Corruption: Atiku, Tinubu, Kalu Top EFCC List

...Read the full article.

[NWA-DIKE!]

Finally The Unmasking Of Efcc. Who In His Right Frame Of Mind That Has Been To Nigeria In The Last 4yrs Would Justify This List.the Idea Of Nigeria Is One Big Lie...lies......lies.....nothing More Than Lies.

[salstep]

Na wah.

So according to this list, James Ibori and Lucky Igbinedion are the cleanest dudes in town. Ok maybe na witch hunt for contestants only. But OBJ and EFCC get bottle o. Only in Naija can one man be judge, jury and executioner

[I Love Nigeria]

NONSENSE!

The LIST is not a who is who of corruption in Nigeria... it is a LIST of those contesting the forth coming elections who should have no business contesting .... because they are corrupt... Igbinedion and Ibori still hide under IMMUNITY as per section 308 of our constitution!

Ask yourself whether Igbinedion and Ibori are running for any office right now?

Governor Kalu and Mr. Atiku are both PPA and AC presidential candidates repsectively

[NWA-DIKE!]

Originally Posted by I Love Nigeria

NONSENSE!

The LIST is not a who is who of corruption in Nigeria... it is a LIST of those contesting the forth coming elections who should have no business contesting .... because they are corrupt... Igbinedion and Ibori still hide under IMMUNITY as per section 308 of our constitution!

Ask yourself whether Igbinedion and Ibori are running for any office right now?

Governor Kalu and Mr. Atiku are both PPA and AC presidential candidates repsectively

WHAT ABOUT AKALA, GBENGA DANIELS, ANDY UBA, JUST TO NAME A FEW THAT ARE IN THE RACE RIGHT NOW.THERE IS NO JUSTIFICATION FOR THIS LIST.IF YOU WANT TO PUBLISH ANY LIST......YOU MUST DO IT RIGHT.

[ELAWALO]

Dear Respondents / Villagers
This is the Baba so pe list ...
Obviously it had been doctored. As far as I am concerned those on the list are not relevant, it is those names that are conspicuously missing that i know as the big thieves...

[Dragon]

Segun Agagu is equally absent from the list.... I also understand that quite a few of those on the list have never been invited or questioned by the EFCC.

And Iyabo Obasanjo's opponent - Lanre Tejuoso was included on this list whereas the fellow has never been a guest of the EFCC nor indicted in any of their investigations. His 'advise' letter to the party was personally signed by Mr Nuhu 'baba's fixer' Ribadu. Whats more, the EFCC chose to leak this list to the public as a way of stirring dissafection within the electorate. The hand of Esau (Ribadu) but the voice of Jacob (Obasanjo)

For those who hitherto eulogised this young Adamawa boy as being the 'saint'... one lesson to learn - bad things come in good packages.

Carry on Mr Obasanjo. The mileage ahead is shorter than that covered; and long after your time is gone, these 'followers' of yours will tell my grandchildren the crimes they committed against humanity.

It is our collective shame indeed!

[ocnus]

This latest outburst by the EFCC is typical of its style and direction. Its activities in the political realm are entirely in conflict with the laws which established EFCC and the powers given to it. The EFFC was founded by an act of the National Assembly, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment Act) 2002. It was an “Act to provide for the establishment of a commission for economic and financial which was amended 2004 to an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment Act) 2004.

The EFCC is charged with the responsibility of enforcing the provisions of
(a) the Money Laundering Act 2004; 2003 No.7 1995 N0. 13
(b) the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 1995;
(c) the Failed Banks (Recovery of Debts) and Financial Malpractices in Banks Act 1994, as amended;
(d) The Banks and other Financial Institutions Act 1991, as amended; and
(e) Miscellaneous Offences Act
(f) Any other law or regulations relating to economic and financial crimes, including the Criminal code of penal code

The Commission has power to –
(a) cause investigations to be conducted as to whether any person, corporate body or organization has committed any offence under this Act or other law relating to economic and financial crimes
(b) cause investigations to be conducted into the properties of any person if it appears to the commission that the person’s lifestyle and extent of the properties are not justified by his source of income.

The power of the EFCC is to investigate, and to prepare for trial, the cases under its jurisdiction. It has no power of enforcement other than the criminal courts. If it feels it has evidence against an individual or groups of individuals it must proceed by instigating criminal proceedings against that person or persons within the framework of the Nigerian Constitution.

The Constitution is clear:

Article 36.
(1) In the determination of his civil rights and obligations, including any question or determination by or against any government or authority, a person shall be entitled to a fair hearing within a reasonable time by a court or other tribunal established by law and constituted in such manner as to secure its independence and impartiality. ..

(3) The proceedings of a court or the proceedings of any tribunal relating to the matters mentioned in subsection (1) of this section (including the announcement of the decisions of the court or tribunal) shall be held in public.

(4) Whenever any person is charged with a criminal offence, he shall, unless the charge is withdrawn, be entitled to a fair hearing in public within a reasonable time by a court or tribunal.

The EFCC has done none of these things. It has made allegations against politicians which is has not used as evidence against them in a court of law as required by the Constitution. There is nothing the Establishment of the EFCC which allows it to intervene, examine or pronounce on the fitness of any candidate for political office. This is a power it has given itself; or at least been given by a President who has regularly demonstrated that the Constitution means nothing to him, despite his oath of office.

If the EFCC has a case to make against any of those it excoriates, it is obliged to bring a case before the courts on the evidence it may have and to allow the justice system to pass on the guilt or innocence of the person under the law. The EFCC is not a Star Chamber organisation and, despite Ribadu’s frothing mouth and popping eyes, he is acting well outside his powers. He is Obasanjo’s hunting hyena, not a law enforcement officer. He enforces no law; he acts by leak and rumour; and is a disgrace to his position. Even in those cases where the EFCC has produced clear evidence of criminal behaviour (Bode George for example) it has not acted.

Perhaps it is time for the courts to put a leash on the EFCC and to return it to the tasks that the law and the Constitution provide for it.

[Agbejoro]

Some Nigerians are truly amazing: the way they think, speak, write and conjecture things!!! I have said it over and over again; many hardly see or say anything good to any little laudable efforts except to blindly criticize (or pooh-pooh) what could pass commendable acts of patriotism and modesty. God will judge. It is cheap to criticize and blackmail. And when some of those negative thinkers and critics are called upon to serve, in any way or manner, they always make disastrous administrators.

I don’t think any forward-looking, progressive and result-oriented person will see this as OBJ list because it does not include all the people they perceive as “thieves” in their respective states and local governments. Assuming it does, some mindless countrymen/women may also demand for the inclusion of IBB, Abubakar, me, my great-grand mother and others who have never had anything to do with government money. If efforts are made to include some people, my country people will still call it political “witch-hunting” and all sorts of names.

Anyway, it’s a question of mindset of the “road-signs” and “road-users”. If you can’t say well-done for a good job, you might do well to just keep quite and stop this needless peevish ranting by criticizing this pace-setting (unprecedented) scrutiny in the history of the country. For sure, the list is not exhaustive, and may never truly be complete with mathematical precision/accuracy. This is a good way to start provided it is subsequently sustained and enhanced.

[Caeser]

Ribadu has just confirmed himself to be a tool in the hands of Obasanjo. If he thinks Obasanjo will remain in power forever then he has another think coming up. He will be swept into ignominy as soon as his master is swept out of office. He is as corrupt,probably even more corrupt than Obasanjo. Sowore and co should start looking into the activities of Ribadu and EFCC as a matter of urgency. They are really needed here.

[falcon]

Mr NWA-DIKE,
Welcome to the village square; as Abraxas has not done it himself I will take upon myself to welcome you.

You joined the square yesterday and since then your many utterances have being worrying:

Yesterday you came to the square as NWA-DIKE to say that:
I Am Trying To Figure Out What Pat Utomi Stands For And Who Is His Running-mate. How Is He Going To Solve The Problems That Ordinary Nigerian Faces Like Lack Of Enrgy,water,health E.t.c. How Can...

Where have you been NWA-DIKE?
On the same day, less than two hours later, you said

I Want Him To Go As Far As The Truth Can Carry Him. I Am Proud That The Likes Of Him And Yaradua Are In The Race But The Tragedy Is That Yaradua Is Running Under Pdp I Wish It Could Have Been A Jiont...

A joint ticket based on what NWA-DIKE?

Today you have come to see
Finally The Unmasking Of Efcc. Who In His Right Frame Of Mind That Has Been To Nigeria In The Last 4yrs Would Justify This List.the Idea Of Nigeria Is One Big Lie...lies......lies.....nothing More...

Who on that list is can you honestly say should not be there NWA-DIKE?
My dear NWA-DIKE please tread carefully in this new land.

[akuluouno]

Use of EFCC as an instrument of terrorism. This is a diversionary strategy at this critical stage in the elections with social vices, fuel and power outage chocking the nation.
Please join me and offer this prayer to Our Baba.

Our Baba who art in Nigeria,
Forgive us our trespasses
As we have forgiven you your trespasses for the last eight years.
Leave the stage in peace and retire to Otta Farms
Do not lead us into temptation of forcing you out,
For we have the voting power, and you have nothing to lose
But your honor and glory
For ever and ever
Amen.

[Segun Adeyemi]

Hi Ocnus,
I may excuse your legality and constitutionality on the issue of corruption in Nigeria. I do not really need to remind you that corruption in Nigeria is hydra-headed, it has become a cancerworm that has eaten far deeper into our political and economic marrows.

I use to cite an example of The Police, The Traffic Offender and the Traffic Light.

Assuming a Police man wants to arrest a driver who breaks the traffic rules and in the process of pursuing the offender, the traffic light stops the Policeman. Do you think the Policeman will be able to arrest the traffic Offender if in his attempt to obey the traffic law, he has to stop for the light?

Certainly, the traffic Offender will escape the arrest and go scot free! Hence, all efforts in time and resources put in by the Policemen will be in vain!

Your piece and all manner of Constitutional references seem to under estimate the problem of corruption in Nigeria. Recently, the Chairman of ICPC stated that the Commission receives over 3000 petitions every month from people.

The truth is that ordinary Nigerians are so pauperised that they cannot even have the strength or boldness and resources to confront the corrupt Nigerians. Corruption is one the most organised and financially strong crime across the world that it requires the determination of very strong and determine leaders such as we have in Nigeria to fight it.

I have listened and read about people accusing President Obasanjo of all manner of crime and even insulting his person. These acts is to let you know that corrupt people have enormous resources they can use to destabilize any country that has weak leadership. Imagine the Vice President of a country being more powerful than the President. If such a country is Nigeria, certainly Atiku would have pulled down the government. This is a man that has acquired enormous and stupendous wealth from the privatisation programme under his supervision.

I think we should leave the issue of sounding legalistic in the fight against corruption. Does it not surprise you that in Nigeria corrupt people gets more sympathy than the man fighting corruption? A situation where Governors, Ministers, Vice President, Presidential Aides are involved in corruption is enough to let you know that it is not a matter of sentiment or sympathy with those accused. Afterall, if those accused of corruption had obeyed the law and due process, it wouldn't have been possible for them to steal.

Please let us sympathise and give our support to the fight against corruption in Nigeria. It affects everybody, every family and every homes in Nigeria.

[I Love Nigeria]

Nuhu WMD Ribadu ! Ribadu my Ribadu!

Malam Nuhu Ribadu: The crime burster

Dele Sobowale
Posted to the Web: Sunday, January 01, 2006



We shall make progress if we send the right man to fill the right place
—Sir Austen Henry Layard, 1817-1894, Speech in the House of Commons 15 January 1855.

FROM light to darkness in one generation: Sir Layard, like all those who have left mankind with thoughts carved on stone, was not thinking of Nigeria when he delivered those obvious homilies. Indeed, Nigeria entered the world map fifty nine years after in 1914. Modern day Nigeria, which started in 1960 actually came into being 105 years after. And for a while, we seemed to have accepted the meritocracy which Layard preached. The leaders, Ahmadu Bello, Obafemi Awolowo, and Nnamdi Azikiwe were the most capable of their generation and as the Premiers of the first three regions, North, West and East respectively, they sent, each and every time, “the right man to fill the right place”.

Until 1966, Nigeria was an upward mobile nation, whose Gross Domestic Productivity (GDP) was growing at about seven per cent per annum and income was doubling every thirteen years – without the curse of crude oil. Three things fundamentally changed this nation for the worse: the military intervention of 1966; the emergence of crude oil as the mainstay of the economy and the enthronement of mediocrity.
The three brought in their wake pervasive corruption which has sapped the nation’s economic, political and social vitality. Today, despite being the sixth largest oil producer in the world Nigeria is one of the poorest and one of the most corrupt. And for a long time it appeared as if the situation was hopeless – until Malam Nuhu Ribadu’s appoitment as EFCC Chairman.

The transformation: When Malam Nuhu Ribadu, a Deputy Commissioner of Police, and scion of the Ribadu family, whose clan head was a Minister of Defence in the First Republic, was appointed to head the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) few people expected the commission to be effective. To begin with, the EFCC boss was coming from a Nigeria Police Force (NPF) infamous for bribery and corruption and Nuhu had spent a lot of his adult life in the grime that the NPF represented. Second, the corruption in the country was so pervasive and the most corrupt individuals were those in the innermost corridors of power at Abuja and those in control of the ruling party’s machinery at the state levels. Given those formidable obstacles most people wrote off the entire enterprise as a waste of time at best or as an opportunity for self-enrichment or political vendetta at worst.

Ribadu revolution

But today, the EFCC has been transformed into a fearful crime and corruption bursting machine and the chairman has grown in stature as a result. The closest experience to the Nuhu Ribadu revolution in the nation’s history was the impact of late Major General Tunde Idiagbon on the Nigerian polity.

Although Major General Buhari was the Head of State, the unsmiling Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters as it then was, was the enforcer. He was ready to tackle every thing from fuel scarcity to indiscipline to environmental sanitation. His shadow was everywhere. Only God knows what the nation would have achieved with four or five more years of his iron discipline. And the reference to Idiagbon is not only apt, it is deliberate because it illustrates the good and the bad sides of the EFCC. That the chairman has a vision is not in doubt; that he has already achieved some land mark results is not in dispute. But are we almost reaching the point where we should heed the warning of John Major, British Prime Minister who, in 1993, said: “People with vision usually do more harm than good”? One hopes not because the EFCC has performed spectacularly.

Touching the untouchables: Once upon a time, and it looks like ancient history, it was assumed that some people were legally untouchable. Not because the statutes provided them with immunity but because the executive branch including the president, the governors, the police and the prosecutors would not perform their duties. So failed contracts multiplied; failed banks increased in number; domestic and global Advanced Fee Fraud, a.k.a 419 crimes escalated. In fact, Nigeria made crime pay - as long as the criminal was able to make enough money to bribe the officials or to establish the right connections. The Failed Banks decree of the Abacha regime focussed on one aspect of a web of corruption that had become the subject of dinner discussions world-wide. By 2001 there was no country in the world which had not been invaded by Nigerians perpetrating 419 crimes; there was hardly any account held anywhere in the world that was safe from invasion.

Bankers in Nigeria and abroad promoted money laundering despite the international protocols making it illegal; the banks benefited and the individual bankers also profited from the growing crime. In fact, as more criminals are being brought to justice by Ribadu and his men, it is unlikely that any bank in Nigeria will remain unindicted. And many banks abroad, especially in Britain, the United Sates, France, Germany, Switzerland and Saudi Arabia, will also be exposed as the conduit pipes for illegal money transfers.

But, surprisingly, the EFCC has demolished the myth of the untouchables. Today, prominent bankers, former ministers, Senate presidents, top party members and the biggest 419 operators have either been convicted or are facing prosecution. Still, those doubting the will of the EFCC chairman pointed to those covered by immunity - the President, the Vice-President, the Governors and the Deputy Governors – as proof that the commission was incapable of taking on the tough cases.

The arrest of the former Inspector General of Police -Tafa Balogun - followed by his open humiliation and conviction (although through plea bargaining) and now the arrest and prosecution of Alamieyeseigha, the former governor of Bayelsa State, has started to change minds. And that is only the beginning.

Undoubtedly, the achievements recorded so far by Malam Nuhu Ribadu will be regarded by historians of the future as one of the most remarkable of our era. If pursued long and vigorously enough, the EFCC anti-corruption campaign will help restore the virtues that made Nigeria a growing and increasingly prosperous nation before the military coup of 1966.
Creeping machiavelism remains a problem: Nicholo Machiaveli 1469-1527, was the Italian statesman and philosopher, who, unfortunately for him, has become notorious for declaring that “the end justifies the means”. Those who have thoroughly read Machiaveli’s works will agree that there is more to the man’s philosophy than that. Being dead he can no longer hire an image maker. Malam Ribadu might soon need one. Increasingly, the EFCC is creating for itself the image of an organisation which is Machiavelian in its approach. It goes beyond serving the cause of justice and now tramples on the human rights of the accused. It is also perceived as being selective in its choice of those to hunt down and prosecute and even humiliate. Malam Ribadu himself is a lawyer and as such he is aware that under English law, on which most of Nigeria’s statute are based, a person is presumed innocent until pronounced guilty by a competent court of law.

Media prejudices

Furthermore, Malam Ribadu is aware that trial by media prejudices the case against accused persons. Finally, he is aware of the fact that as a minister in the temple of justice, he is not supposed to exhibit any trace of personal vindictiveness or bias.

But, in the most celebrated of the cases the EFCC has handled so far, trial by media has become the rule not the exception with the EFCC chairman being mostly guilty of the offence. Secondly, the treatment given to those arrested does not conform with the presumption of innocence. Instead, the accused are treated as if they have already been convicted. The public humiliation of Tafa Balogun by EFCC operatives is a clear demonstration of malice by the commission which could not have been possible if Nuhu Ribadu had warned his staff in advance against such conduct.

Selective investigation, prosecution and humiliation of those assumed to have embezzled public funds is also one of the charges made against the EFCC. For instance, the EFCC is not as eager to investigate those who donated to the Presidential Library or to work with Chief Gani Fawehinmi to prosecute the case. Its eagerness to obtain the conviction of Alamieyeseigha, a Nigerian citizen, in an English court, after providing the English with the tip-off in the first place, is questionable given the fact that no British law enforcement officer will ever provide Nigeria with information which will lead to the arrest, prosecution and imprisonment of their citizen. Self-righteousness must have limits and even the outrage that EFCC officials feel about the crimes should not be boundless according to those who feel the EFCC is going too far.

Finally, the EFCC is demonstrating a disturbing lack of priorities. From fighting crime and corruption, it has now allowed its activities to stray into civil areas. Banks now engage the EFCC to help recover loans and even individuals who might have been careless in entering into risky transactions want to use the EFCC to recover their losses.
Yet, there are monster cases of corruption to be investigated. Among these are: the N10 billion drawn in 1999 to fight poverty; the mafia that holds the NNPC in a vice-grip; Ajaokuta Steel scam which has consumed over N500 billion; the ALSCON project which cost the nation N800 billion yet no aluminium has been produced; Nigerian Airways etc. All these dwarf by comparison whatever any bank might have lost to any defaulting customer.

Bottom line: Finally, even if Dariye and Alamieyeseigha, standing proxy for other accused persons, are ultimately found guilty, as accused, can Malam Nuhu Ribadu sincerely and truthfully tell the nation that the other governors and public officials including permanent secretaries and the incumbent office holders in the police, navy, army, Nigerian Customs Service, Power Holding Company, NNPC (to mention a few) are blameless? The way and manner the EFCC treats all the governors, ministers, special advisers and even the Presidential Library investigation will in the end determine his place in history. Ribadu has written the first chapter creditably; will the rest commend or condemn him to posterity. That is the question to which we will find the answer in the months ahead.

[Namio]

Yes. Ribadu has to name all of them or nobody?
People are so hypocritical, you can see it in their writings. Most of those critics of Ribadu are waiting for their turns so that they can hide under some law. Until someone or some people declare a real revolution in that Country of ours, it will be business as usual. Unfortunately only the connected people can wacky and die. Poor Nigeria.
I still do not know how Ribadu can survive all you hypocrites who know what you are after. I feel so frustrated, I feel like causing you all. But I wont for the sake of decorum.

[falcon]

Namio
I know how you feel. Poor Nigeria

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by I Love Nigeria

NONSENSE!

The LIST is not a who is who of corruption in Nigeria... it is a LIST of those contesting the forth coming elections who should have no business contesting .... because they are corrupt...!

While I am inclined to agree with that assertion, I hope Nuhu Ribadu and his EFCC are doing all they can to enforce the law in a fair and balanced manner.

I still refuse to believe Nuhu Ribadu is an Obasanjo tool - especially when one see him make utterances and do things that run counter to what Obasanjo and his buddies will say and do. But then again, maybe those of us who think like that are just being naive.

Posterity will judge!

Auspicious.

[NWA-DIKE!]

Falcon, Thanks For Your Comment. Dont Worry About Who Is On The List But Rather Who Is Obviously Missing From The List........

[MrOneNaija]

HIS MASTER'S VOICE: A WORTHLESS EXERCISE BY A HIRED TOUT

This is Nuhu Ribadu, the tout extraordinaire living up to his reputation as a foul-mouthed hired thug at the beck and call of that monster at Aso Rock called Obasanjo. It is obvious to all and sundry that the sole objective of this grotesque exercise is the Vice President, Abubakar Atiku. That so far, these bacchants and their footsoldiers have not found anything that reasonably indicts Atiku speaks volumes. The sickening resort to crude antics by Nigeria's Caligula and his fellow gangsters in the likes of Nuhu Ribadu is an indication as to the desperation and panic on the part of the PDP mafia ahead of the 2007 elections.

Abachanjo and his confederates must be told that there is absolutely nothing they can do that will shield them from having to account for their numerous crimes and atrocities after May 29, 2007.

http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/...t-of-town.html

Written by Aonduna Tondu
Sunday, 08 October 2006
DRIVING NUHU RIBADU OUT OF TOWN



The EFCC is a good example of a noble idea gone awry. Faced with the rabble-rousing histrionics of its mercurial head called Nuhu Ribadu and the glaring evidence that both the outfit and its chairman have become tools in the service of a dictator and his anti-people fantasies, Nigerian democrats and those who wish our country well must be alarmed at the prospect of letting Ribadu and the contraption he pretends to lead continue to desecrate our democratic spaces with his resort to violent and illegal tactics that clearly are an affront to the sensibilities of decent, law-abiding citizens. If the truth be told, Nuhu Ribadu has constituted himself into an uncouth loudmouth with a penchant for mafia-style antics. As things now stand, Ribadu’s EFCC has joined the police and the SSS in particular as one of the notable instruments of state being deployed in a criminal and outlaw fashion by His Majesty to constrict Nigeria’s democratic environment with an aim to perpetuating the status quo – a sinister proposition that cannot be in the short or long-term interest of the average Nigerian.


Yet, history has taught us that the type of fool’s paradise being sought after by Obasanjo and his allies is the ultimate challenge or danger that a community can be confronted with. And how well members of that community respond to such a threat to their collective patrimony is bound to determine the course of future development in the society. That is why the next time Ribadu descends on any community with his fellow thugs in the furtherance of the script laid down by his political master, all men and women of goodwill should rise and chase the rascals out of town for the likes of Ribadu and Obasanjo cowardly hide behind the tapestry of pseudo-constitutionalism in order to prosecute their petty agenda of corrupt self-preservation and political partisanship.


There is no gainsaying that Nigerians who have been bruised by decades of corrupt practices on the part of their so-called leaders are yearning for good and morally-conscious representatives. Those who tell them they will fight the plague of 419 and do actually commit themselves to the pledge should become instant heroes. But the moment the initial mission is hijacked and its agents conscripted for unwholesome purposes as is the case in the current witch-hunting and grandstanding the EFCC’s Ribadu has graduated into, Nigerians should not hesitate to call the apostates and their supporters to order. Beyond the obviously selective posture of his relentless, if reckless hounding of figures who in the main are considered as political enemies or associates of enemies of Obasanjo, there is the worrisome question of process, namely, the evidently illegal manner Ribadu, an agent of the Aso Rock tyrant, is going about his supposed business of fighting corruption. The lack of due process that keeps manifesting itself in the EFCC’s actions is troubling and raises more questions as to the commitment of Obasanjo and his henchmen to the sustenance of democracy in Nigeria. As I did stress elsewhere, the corrupt and illegal use of state structures in the so-called anti-corruption campaign is doing more harm than good. The lack of trust in government processes should be a constant source of worry for all. Already, the corrupt use of Ribadu, his EFCC and other fixtures, has ensured that governance at the federal level has been paralyzed for some time now. This is taking its toll on the Nigerian psyche. The Nigerian nation is being held hostage by loathsome types with a disdain for democratic governance. These unpatriotic characters cannot be allowed to have their way. The stakes are just too great for the country.


While Nuhu Ribadu pontificates and noisily denounces politicians and other individuals not considered as politically willing to play ball with Obasanjo, he studiously keeps mute or, worse, obfuscates by wallowing in meanderings of inconsistency and duplicity when confronted with the sleazy and thieving conduct of his master and the cabal he belongs to. For those genuinely seeking after the truth, it must be mentioned that a recent document written by retired Col. Abubakar Umar on the dishonest and hypocritical way the anti-corruption war is being pursued by Ribadu and his gang should be considered as a critical part of any intelligence on the state of the nation under the regime of Baba Aremu. In his sweeping and disparaging remarks against state governors at the National Assembly recently, Ribadu was careful to leave out mentioning where much of the corruption in government offices takes place, namely, the presidency of Matthew Okikiolakan Obasanjo. And one should not ignore the fact that Obasanjo’s family members and henchmen like Bode George, Tony Anenih, and Ahmadu Ali have cases to answer regarding their respective roles in the handling of public money. Surely, Ribadu cannot be taken seriously. He has developed into a quantity of tragic proportions. And the tragic posture of which Ribadu and the EFCC are now an embodiment has once more been on display, this time, in places like Ekiti and Plateau.


In a show of shame reminiscent of the ‘coups d’état’ in Bayelsa and Oyo, Nuhu Ribadu has arrested sitting legislators of Ekiti and Plateau states, supposedly on charges of corruption. These legislators have virtually been held incommunicado. They have been intimidated and forced to start impeachment proceedings against their respective state governors whom Ribadu and his boss consider as embezzlers. It is said that sometimes tragedy presents itself as farce. This was the case a few days ago when, discarding any pretense of legality and the rule of law, Ribadu’s EFCC dragged eight members of the Plateau state legislature whom they had been holding to Jos, under heavy police escort,. Six of the legislators, out of a 24-member House, were forced to start impeachment proceedings against the state governor, Joshua Dariye! This smacks of utmost disdain for constitutionality and the Nigerian people. This is how The Guardian reported the tragedy in Jos: “EIGHT of the 24-member Plateau State House of Assembly yesterday breezed into the Assembly Chambers and declared that they were holding a valid legislative meeting.

Heavily guarded by over 400 policemen and officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the eight legislators proceeded to pass resolutions.

First, they declared the Assembly Speaker, Mr. Simon Lalong, impeached and appointed a replacement, Mr. Michael Dapialong, who represents the Quaan Pan South Constituency of the state.

They thereafter passed a resolution serving an impeachment notice on the state Governor, Chief Joshua Chibi Dariye.

The eight legislators came from the custody of the EFCC where they were being detained. Immediately after the resolutions, the eight legislators went back to Abuja with the Assembly mace.

As the eight legislators were meeting, there were sporadic gunshots in the premises by the police to scare away some supporters of the governor who wanted to force themselves into the Assembly chambers. The policemen overpowered the demonstrators who were mainly women…” A Nigerian newspaper caption has aptly described the violent attempt by the EFCC and the police, acting on orders from Obasanjo, to remove Governor Dariye, as “gun-point democracy”.


Irrespective of what the state executives in both Ekiti and Plateau are alleged to have done, due process should be meticulously applied in their cases. To do otherwise would mean the courting of disaster. It is dictatorship of the Nazi kind. The illegal abduction and detention of state legislators only to force them to remove governors should be condemned in the strongest of terms. The hand of the Imperial Ruler from Otta in all this is quite palpable. Ribadu is a mere agent, a subaltern taking orders from none other than his political master. The scenario is a familiar one. It is the tale of Aremu as puppet master and Ribadu as a spineless puppet at his beck and call, an acolyte programmed to do the bidding of his ‘big oga’. It is a potent statement that we have in Nigeria today an individual laying claim to the Nigerian presidency who is a figure of scatology par excellence. His obsession with perfidy is at once numbing and unprecedented in the history of our nation.

Nigeria has never had it so bad in a supposed democracy. Those who rightly condemn the recent coup in Thailand should also reject what Obasanjo and his agents in the police, the SSS and the EFCC are doing in the name of a supposed anti-corruption campaign. In either case, allegations of corruption against public officials are used as a pretext for a military-style destitution of constituted authority.


It is apparent to discerning minds that the main objective of Ribadu’s gangster politics is to as much as possible seek to discredit Obasanjo’s perceived enemies ahead of the crucial primaries of the various political parties. The escalation of what is tantamount to political thuggery on the part of Ribadu and his fellow foot-soldiers is no doubt Baba’s revenge on opponents of his failed ‘term elongation’ gambit. But the appropriate answer to the type of reckless impunity symbolized by Ribadu and his mentor, the tyrant at Aso Rock, should be an uncompromising repudiation of what these cavemen stand for in the present scheme of things. Obasanjo and his éminence grise are not interested in nurturing democracy in Nigeria. Their actions speak volumes. Ribadu should be reminded that he is a nonentity, a moral nuisance willingly embracing the vile and criminal tactics of a discredited ruler. That there are consequences. Ribadu and his partners in crime must be resisted. Citizens should rise and fight them with every means at their disposal. To retreat in the face of Obasanjo’s ignoble assault on the nation’s democratic mores and decency is to invite lawlessness and the enthronement of mediocrity and rascality as tools for societal relevance. Ribadu must resign. That is if he has integrity. You cannot fight corruption in an atmosphere vitiated by the selfish agenda of those charged with prosecuting the campaign. A government that has proved through its sordid track record that it shuns due process and the rule of law is not in a position to fight corruption. The proof of this is the current regime’s numerous contradictions like the thick cloud of sleaze at the presidency. What this means is that neither Obasanjo nor his agent, Ribadu, can transparently and effectively lead the campaign against corruption. Only a democracy-conscious – as in the respect of human rights – government can be expected to show leadership in that regard. Today, Nuhu Ribadu and his EFCC have become part and parcel of the corruption problem in Nigeria. In order to restore a semblance of sanity and credibility to the anti-corruption fight, Ribadu must go. Ribadu lacks the sober mien expected of a government official in his position. In a legerdemain, he dismisses legitimate criticism even as he indulges in intemperate, partisan pronouncements on critical national issues whereby the unmistakable message is the unwarranted denunciation of Obasanjo’s political foes. The next democratically elected government should seek to prosecute the likes of Ribadu and their crimes against Nigerians. In a new and determined anti-corruption drive to be undertaken after May 29, 2007, the support of the people will be crucial. That support will be predicated on transparency, due process, trust and goodwill on the part of all concerned, ingredients which are sadly lost in a maze of Ribadu’s rabble-rousing and gangsterism.


Aonduna Tondu


New York.

[felix]

“"In Akure last Saturday, Obasanjo said to the hearing of the entire world that since Olusegun Mimiko (former Housing Minister, now gubernatorial candidate of the Labour Party in Ondo State) refused his entreaties to support the governor, Olusegun Agagu, for second term, he will be arrested by the EFCC.

“This has shown clearly that EFCC is nothing but a willing tool in the hands of Obasanjo. Therefore, all those who will appear on the corruption list of EFCC are those who have disagreed politically with Obasanjo,” the AC said further.

But Jigawa State deputy governor, Hadejia, who is running for the governorship ticket on the platform of ANPP while his boss, Saminu Turaki, has joined the PDP, said information available about the list is “tentative because there are no details yet as to the reasons (for disqualification).

“Almost all the credible people are on the list and this is surprising. I have never deputised for the governor (Turaki) since I was appointed, yet I’m on the list. How could I have been on the list when my governor, who has been the only one running the affairs of the state was not there. Are you not suspecting anything?""






This is what happens when criminals catch fellow criminals....Obasanjo and his Ribadu are fighting corruption!!!....,no doubt about that but the truth is that they are fighting corruption their own way, their own style and they are fighting their battles!!!...If you ask me , i will say the real criminal here is one scammer called Ribadu!!!