Yar'Adua, The Attorney General And The EFCC
By Reuben Abati

The Yar'adua government is sending negative signals about the EFCC. The President's body language on the question of the anti-corruption campaign is confusing. For a President whose body language is a symbol of austerity, his subtle and no-so-subtle moves on the EFCC in the last 102 days indicate very clearly that he does not intend to grant as much importance to the EFCC as did the Obasanjo administration. The public face of this attitude is the current Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Michael Aondoakaa whose body language in comparison to his boss's is so expansive and self-promoting. Aondoakaa is leaving no one in any doubt that he intends to cut the EFCC and its Chairman, Nuhu Ribadu to size, and interestingly he is hiding under what he calls the rule of law, but the way he goes about it (his assignment?), he might as well be hiding behind a finger.

. The latest from the "Chief Law officer of the Federation" (how he loves that title!) is his directive that the EFCC should fire its attorney in the Orji Kalu case, and ask him to apologise to the AGF for insulting his representative in court. I shall return to this in greater detail presently. But first, it will be recalled that one of the major early events in the life of the Yar'Adua administration was the announcement by the Presidency that in the light of Section 174 of the Constitution, the EFCC, the ICPC and other law enforcement agencies would only henceforth now institute criminal proceedings after due clearance with the office of the Attorney General of the Federation.

This had caused so much disquiet especially in the light of a Supreme Court judgment (FGN vs Osahon) which had made it clear that law enforcement agents can initiate criminal proceedings although the Attorney General of the Federation under Section 174 of the 1999 Constitution and Attorneys General of the states under Section 221 have the powers to discontinue or take over such cases at any stage. The clear import of the ruling in that case is that the AGF does not enjoy a monopoly over the institution of criminal proceedings.

The Federal Government had dissociated itself 24 hours later from any possible interpretation of its reference to the powers of the AGF being an attempt to muzzle the anti-corruption and other law enforcement agencies. But in retrospect, that small drama over Section 174, the details of which are as clear as crystal, was unnecessary. But it served three curious purposes. It served the purpose of bringing Michael Aondoakaa to public attention. We knew from that point onwards that some fellow called Aondoakaa was now the Chief Law officer of the Federation! And since then, he has been bestriding the public space like Moses the law giver, he it was for example who sounded the death knell of the Naira redenomination policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria when he brought out a section of the CBN Act which the CBN purportedly violated, and he gave a final ruling as if he were the Supreme Court of the land!. The drama over Section 174 also served the purpose of reminding us of the importance of the office of the Attorney General of the Federation, with an accent on his powers to discontinue criminal proceedings and the fact that law enforcement agencies merely act on his behalf. The incident further provided a sub text to the arraignment, by the EFCC at the time, of former state Governors (Kalu, Dariye, Akume, Nnamani, Turaki etc) who had been accused of theft of public funds, money laundering, and other corrupt practices, and whose immunity under Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution had expired.

But in the reckoning of the Presidency, the pre-eminence of the Office of the Attorney General is to serve the purpose of reminding everyone of its promise and determination to acknowledge, promote and insist on the rule of law. The rule of law is one of the favourite phrases of President Umaru Yar'adua, and where a section of the law can be used to justify any action, he jumps at it. This love of the rule of law resonates well with the Nigerian people who have lived for too long as witnesses to the brazen abuse of the law first by military rulers and later by their civilian successors. Under the Obasanjo administration for eight years, the rule of law was applied selectively oftentimes to serve political ends. But what President Yar'Adua may soon discover in due course is that the law can sometimes be an ass, which can be pressed to service to justify anything. Placed in the care of the present Attorney General of the Federation, my suspicion is that we are likely to see in the days ahead, the law truly made to act like an ass.

Take the conduct of the office of the Attorney General and the Ministry of Justice in the matter between the EFCC and Orji Kalu, former Governor of Abia state. On Wednesday, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) in the Federal Ministry of Justice had suddenly shown up in the court of Justice Babs Kuewumi at the Federal High Court in Abuja, without prior notice and invoking the almighty Section 174, to take over the Kalu trial from the EFCC. This was said to have been inspired by a petition from Kalu's lawyers alleging that the EFCC had instituted an action against him in violation of an earlier order by an Umuahia, Abia state court restraining the EFCC from arresting, detaining and prosecuting Kalu. Kalu's lawyers had told the Federal Government: "unless you intervene, the Commission will scandalously and contemptuously continue to assail the rule of law." Confronted with the famous phrase "the rule of law", the Attorney General of the Federation purportedly wrote a letter to Kalu's lawyers telling them "we will intervene." And so on Wednesday, they did.

Now, my point is that there is an indecent way in which governmental powers can be exercised and what the office of the Attorney General has done is just that: most indecent. What happened on Wednesday in the Court of Justice Kuewumi amounted to an insult to legal practice and an embarrassment to the court. In the face of the court, two lawyers appeared for the same case, one claiming to have the powers of Section 174 behind him, and the other claiming to be the prosecutor in the court's records. The presiding judge had to excuse the Court form the emerging mess by asking the tow lawyers to go and out and sort out their problem. We expect a higher level of conduct from the Ministry of Justice. Why would the Attorney General accept the position of Kalu's lawyers without even referring the petition to the EFCC if only for comment? Why did it not take the case file away from the EFCC administratively instead of choosing to come to the court to stage a needless show?

Then to worsen the perfidy, the Attorney General subsequently later wrote to the EFCC Chairman asking that the EFCC should change its lawyer in the Orji Kalu case, and ask Adebisi Adeniyi, who had appeared for the EFCC lawyer, Rotimi Jacobs to apologise for allegedly insulting the representative of the Attorney General of the Federation in court. What is this? Yes, the AGF can take over a criminal case in court but where in Section 174 does the Constitution grant him the powers to dictate who should act as a lawyer in a case in court. And what is this tosh about apology? It is the Attorney General and the DPP that should apologise to the EFCC and Nigerians in general. It is also most strange that the Attorney General of the Federation is instructing the EFCC to appoint another lawyer in the case. What is there again for the EFCC in the Orji Kalu case? It is trite to restate the fact that the AGF cannot take over a case and then abandon it and ask the law enforcement agency from which it had taken it over in the first place to continue with it. Again, there is no such provision in Section 174. The AGF may need to read his copy of the Constitution more carefully. .

Nigeria's tragic experience with the management of the rule of law in the last eight years has been the continual appointment as Attorney General of the Federation, persons who deliberately either misinterprete the law to serve political purposes or who act oftentimes in a manner that subverts the rule of law. It is for this reason that informed voices have called for a separation of the offices of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice. And let this point be made, the office of the Attorney General is an established centre of gross inefficiency. In eight years, let that office point to important cases that it has successfully prosecuted. It has a reputation for taking up cases and killing them, the most celebrated in this regard being the Makanjuola case. It is obvious that the office of the Attorney General under Aodoakaa is ready to continue in that tradition. It is shameful that this is so.

The interest of the Attorney General of the Federation in this matter also needs to be questioned. I draw attention to a case: the Attorney General of Benue vs Attorney General fo the Federation which had been filed by the Benue state government some months ago, with Michael Aondoakaa as the counsel for the plaintiff in the matter. In that case, the Benue state government, with George Akume as Governor had questioned the legality of the EFCC. The state wanted the court to declare the creation of the EFCC by an act of the National Assembly illegal and therefore null and void.

Two things: it is not known that Aondoakaa who is now AGF has withdrawn from this case as counsel. Besides, it is pure common sense that no lawyer can serve as counsel to both the plaintiff and the defendant at the same time. The present AGF is now obviously on both sides. He appears to be using his office as Attorney General of the Federation to complete a task that he had embarked upon as a counsel in a matter involving the EFCC. To say that this is indecent is to be charitable. Aondoakaa must be told to declare his interest, and act as a honest broker in all cases involving and affecting the EFCC.

It would appear that there is a grand conspiracy against the EFCC, a game which the Presidency is being unwittingly drawn into. Whatever may be its excesses, the EFCC in dealing with financial crimes and other cases under its jurisdiction has proved, so far, to be far more productive in defending the rule of law than the office of the Attorney General of the Federation. If that office has any evidence to the country, it should please make it available. If indeed, there are excesses, the responsibility of the Presidency should be to correct those excesses and not support any covert attempt to subvert the EFCC. President Yar'adua has always spoken about his commitment to the anti-corruption campaign.

The politics now developing around the EFCC is a challenge to his administration to "walk the talk." Let him also note that the growing impression is that his gover4nment is really not keen about the anti-corruption campaign, because it has too many political IOUs to pay, in the last election, the new administration had been compromised a-borning. Signalling is important in governance, what a government does is as important as what it pretends not to be doing, gestures, verbal and non-verbal cues, even body language could convey equally deep impressions about a government's orientation and determine how foot-soldiers within the governance chain conduct themselves. The ball is in President Yar'Adua's court in this matter.

However, given the present circumstances, it will come as no surprise if the government suddenly wakes up one morning to announce changes in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), or even the outright scrapping of the Commission. There is a gradual build up in this direction. But before they throw away the baby with the bath water, a word of caution is necessary.

Robot  # 1 | 09.09.2007 00:23

Yar'Adua, The Attorney General And The EFCC ...Read the full article.

JAGA-JAGA  # 2 | 09.09.2007 01:27

These are interesting times! I have earlier said immediately after the goofed withdrawal of EFCC to initiate criminal proceedings that the current AGF should gracefully vacate his office for good. This man has series of conflict of interest as such he cannot comfortably carry on the duties of an impartial AGF. I would appeal to the president to remove this AGF or reassign him to a different job if indeed the presedent wants this corruption war to be successful and his government remmebered. I bet that this AGF will never rest until every Governor accussed of corruption is freed. Let the president not be deceived by the so called "rule of law syndrome" which the attorney general fluants at him every time. The president should know that the law is made for man and not man for the law, period. Bye-Bye-oh, I be una broda, Jaga-jaga

Caeser  # 3 | 09.09.2007 02:53

Good job Mr. Abati. I CAESER would appreciate more articles in this mould and less of your ethnic denigrating fiction. Your opinion espoused in the article obviously speaks for many Nigerians. While Aondoakaa might do a good job checking the excesses of the EFCC who have been blatantly biased, vindictive, have disregarded the law with impunity and are unnecessarily belligerent in the prosecution of their duties , he has the problem of a conflict of interest and is given to an ego that is rapidly 'ballooning' out of proportion. Let's pray Mr. 'President' will take cue and put a needle in the right place.

gwobezentashi  # 4 | 09.09.2007 04:59

A most subjective account passing for objectivity. This is Abati at his most ridiculous best. Is the word "decent" in Abati's constitution? So what has decency got to do with the rule of law? Two things: it is not known that Aondoakaa who is now AGF has withdrawn from this case as counsel. Besides, it is pure common sense that no lawyer can serve as counsel to both the plaintiff and the defendant at the same time. The present AGF is now obviously on both sides. He appears to be using his office as Attorney General of the Federation to complete a task that he had embarked upon as a counsel in a matter involving the EFCC. To say that this is indecent is to be charitable. Aondoakaa must be told to declare his interest, and act as a honest broker in all cases involving and affecting the EFCC. If Abati seriously wishes to know what the AGF's current personal position is in this suit, he sure has a funny way of not finding out. A lawyer takes a brief from his client, and in this case, the Benue State government who is the plaintiff in this matter. Clearly Aondoakaa is not and cannot any longer appear for the plaintiff in that matter given his currency as AGF. Infact, he can no longer engage in the private practice of law. That he represented a plaintiff in a matter before his appointment to the office he now holds, cannot be interpreted as him having personal sympathy for the cause of that plaintiff. Otherwise, every lawyer that acts for an armed robber will be construed as the armed robber's accomplice. It would appear that we have come to expect too much from Abati as he sometimes exposes his apparent personal animosities on behalf of his editorial board and shareholders. There is an internecine war going on in government between those who believe they are landlords of the government and those who have come in believing they can right the wrongs of recent years. Ribadu, Soludo, Mark, Ette, Uba, Ali, Maduekwe etc remain surrogates of that past decadence. Their carriage embodies their resistance to the change that must come if Nigeria is to make a break from the hypocrisy and contemptuous disregard for the constitution and rule of law. Debates that should normally take place within the confines of the government apparatus are now increasingly taking place on the pages of newspapers. Some such as Soludo are finding out how lonely it is to be outside of the current reckoning, so they engage in mischief making in striving to hang on to the considerable perks of office. Ribadu sulks at having his sails of impunity challenged. Mark cannot understand why this young Alhaji continues to defy him etc. Well, they must all understand that Nigeria belongs to us all and that the era of "Obasanjononsense" is done and their nuisance value will diminish by the day until they are all consigned to the scrap heap of history from where they will be called to account for their misdemeanours. For now, we just want to see the back of the lot of them. While there may be issues of decency with the way Aondoakaa seems to relish putting Obasanjo's apparatchiks down. Beside his indecency and the criminal disregard for due process and constituted authority, I know which I will take. For a long time, we were invited to ignore Obasanjo's penchant for law breaking and boorishness because he "means well". Look where it has left us? A nation de-zeroed! Look where it has left him? A man up-zeroed! From N20,000 to N20trn in 8 years. Bill Gates, George Soros, Mittal et al must be green with envy. UMYA needs to get a grip. Nigeria needs a president who is in office and in power. If he can't stand the heat and do the needful, then he is welcome to step down before the tribunal does it for him. Aluta! Gwobezentashi

DaBishop  # 5 | 09.09.2007 08:12

The rule of law means all alleged culprits be tried and convicted. A robust AG gets convictions even if he did not initiate the action. A lackey would make excuses.

tonsoyo  # 6 | 09.09.2007 09:15

Good job Abati. This Attoney General is shameless, and like I said earlier on this forum, he is a fifth columnist in Yar'Adua's administration. He has thrown every sense of decency to the winds and has compromised the integrity of the Bar, so much for the arrogant "Chief Law Officer" @Ikechiji, DW, Mikky Jaga, I hope you guys are reading this article with open minds, all is wrong with this AG. He is actually using the phrase 'rule of law' to subvert the rule of law. I expect our "irredentist" loving pro-Atiku and Atiku advocate on NVS as hopeless as the situation is, to jump into the defense of the so called "Chief Law Officer" who happens to be Atiku's lawyer as well. Talking about serving God and marmon. He should be fired already.

Dapxin  # 7 | 09.09.2007 09:29

=tonsoyo;206883>Good job Abati. This Attoney General is shameless, and like I said earlier on this forum, he is a fifth columnist in Yar'Adua's administration. He has thrown every sense of decency to the winds and has compromised the integrity of the Bar, so much for the arrogant "Chief Law Officer" @Ikechiji, DW, Mikky Jaga, I hope you guys are reading this article with open mind, all is wrong with this AG. He is actually using the phrase 'rule of law' to subvert the rule of law. I expect our "irredentist" loving pro-Atiku and Atiku advocate on NVS as hopeless as the situation is, to jump into the defense of the so called "Chief Law Officer" who happens to be Atiku's lawyer as well. Talking about serving God and marmon. He should be fired already. Why is it that, they all seem to patronise the same gang of Lawyers ? Wole Olanipekun, Afe Babalola, Andoaakah et al ?

Auspicious  # 8 | 09.09.2007 09:38

I thank Reuben Abati for a tough stand against the disgraceful conduct of the powers-that-be in the Justice Ministry. I pray we continue to find the voice to be honest with ourselves than leaning on to convenient escapist methods to explain away the glaring wrongs we see in our society. Why would the Attorney General accept the position of Kalu's lawyers without even referring the petition to the EFCC if only for comment? Why did it not take the case file away from the EFCC administratively instead of choosing to come to the court to stage a needless show? How in hell did the parts in quotes above miss the view of those who like to stretch their vocal chords to the very extreme whenever they or theirs are at the recieving end of the machinations of the mischievious ones in government? Oh, Allah is truly a patient Allah! Typical of them, they exhibit the usual selective amnesia/ommission, conviniently ignoring or outrightly dodging the hard facts and going for irrelevancies. God help the next Villager who dares make their kind of excuses, as he or she would be labelled an irredentist. Where the fcuk is the conscience of these characters? Nigeria's tragic experience with the management of the rule of law in the last eight years has been the continual appointment as Attorney General of the Federation, persons who deliberately either misinterprete the law to serve political purposes or who act oftentimes in a manner that subverts the rule of law. Abi o..and some of us are despicably conscienceless enough to only remember the "rule of law" when it does not favor them. Nna, some pepo jus' like to dey kolekt curse for head sha. Ewu Law Champions! Hisssssssssss! Whatever may be its excesses, the EFCC in dealing with financial crimes and other cases under its jurisdiction has proved, so far, to be far more productive in defending the rule of law than the office of the Attorney General of the Federation. If that office has any evidence to the country, it should please make it available. Gba! My prayer this morning goes thus: May God speak to the hearts of those who help those who suffer us to escape in this country, so they may shenk their evil ways..or, in the alternative, may He punish them severely for their convenient flip-flops on issues like this! Ahn-Ahn, what nonesense! Aluta ko, Alubankudi ni! Auspicious.

tonsoyo  # 9 | 09.09.2007 09:48

=dapxin;206888>Why is it that, they all seem to patronise the same gang of Lawyers ? Wole Olanipekun, Afe Babalola, Andoaakah et al ? This particular guy has prominently represented Atiku's aides and have taken up EFCC in legal battles as a practising lawyer. Such people including the ones mentioned by you above should not have been appointed as AGF, there are too many seasoned lawyers in Nigeria for that. You may never know where the hearts of lawyers like Andoakaa are. At least we can tell now that our AGF is pro-corruption.

tonsoyo  # 10 | 09.09.2007 09:50

=Auspicious;206890>I thank Reuben Abati for a tough stand against the disgraceful conduct of the powers-that-be in the Justice Ministry. I pray we continue to find the voice to be honest with ourselves than leaning on to convenient escapist methods to explain away the glaring wrongs we see in our society. How in hell did the parts in quotes above miss the view of those who like to stretch their vocal chords to the very extreme whenever they or theirs are at the recieving end of the machinations of the mischievious ones in government? Oh, Allah is truly a patient Allah! Typical of them, they exhibit the usual selective amnesia/ommission, conviniently ignoring or outrightly dodging the hard facts and going for irrelevancies. God help the next Villager who dares make their kind of excuses, as he or she would be labelled an irredentist. Where the fcuk is the conscience of these characters? Abi o..and some of us are despicably conscienceless enough to only remember the "rule of law" when it does not favor them. Nna, some pepo jus' like to dey kolekt curse for head sha. Ewu Law Champions! Hisssssssssss! Gba! My prayer this morning goes thus: May God speak to the hearts of those who help those who suffer us escape in this country so they may shenk their evil ways..or, in the alternative, may He punish them severely for their convenient flip-flops on issues like this! Ahn-Ahn, what nonesense! Aluta ko, Alubankudi ni! Auspicious. Good one Auspi, where have you been? Have missed you a little.

---

The conversation continues in our forum. Click here to read all comments

---