A group, Movement for the Actualisation of True Federalism and Political Restructuring in Nigeria, has called on President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to immediately scrap the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to save the country from disgrace and ridicule.
The group said it was constrained to join other well-meaning Nigerians in calling for the scrapping of the agency based on its disgraceful conduct, which many Nigerians view as mere political witch-hunting.
Addressing a press conference in Lokoja, the leader of the group, Comrade Benjamin Olurunfemi Timothy, said that the EFCC has, over the years, earned the reputation of a Gestapo organisation due to its habitual nocturnal raids on citizens’ homes and workplaces and its incessant, flagrant disregard for the rule of law and constituted authorities in Nigeria.
Describing the agency as a “child of illegitimacy,” Timothy added, “Unfortunately for the EFCC, Nigeria is not Nazi Germany and definitely not a banana republic. Hence, we call for the immediate disbandment of the agency, which has tarnished Nigeria’s image.”
He explained, “Gestapo is a German acronym for the German Secret State Police in Nazi Germany, known for its terror methods, operating in secrecy at night against perceived enemies or suspects. Over time, the EFCC has earned this reputation through its nocturnal raids and disregard for legal norms. Unfortunately, Nigeria is not Nazi Germany or a banana republic.”
Timothy further criticised the EFCC, comparing its operations to the dance depicted in the popular K-pop song “Gangnam Style” by South Korean artist PSY, released on July 15, 2012.
He said, “Many Nigerians from the southwest nicknamed it ‘Gra-Gra Style,’ reflecting the artist’s coordinated but wild and gangster-like dance moves.
“When PSY was asked about the meaning of ‘Gangnam Style,’ he explained that ‘Gangnam’ refers to a territory in Seoul, noble by day and crazy by night. This perfectly describes the EFCC’s actions—noble by day, but violent, gun-blazing, and out of control by night.”
He cited an incident in 2016, when the EFCC stormed the home of Justice Ofili Ajumogobia, a Federal High Court judge, at 5:00 a.m. under the guise of investigating money laundering and breach of public trust. Eventually, the cases were struck out by a Lagos High Court in 2019, and Ajumogobia was reinstated as a Federal High Court judge on December 1, 2022. Timothy described this episode as an abysmal performance, marked by poor methodology and a waste of resources.
He also noted the EFCC’s October 29, 2021, raid on the Maitama home of Justice Mary Odili, a Supreme Court judge. The operatives, accompanied by police, broke into her home looking for her husband, a former governor of Rivers State, despite a perpetual injunction obtained by him barring the EFCC from investigating him.
Timothy further recalled the attempted arrest of former Governor Yahaya Bello at the Kogi State Government Lodge, Asokoro. He said EFCC operatives shot sporadically despite Bello voluntarily visiting the EFCC office earlier that day. “The attack was unjustified, especially since the Commission had earlier instructed him to leave and return at a later date,” he noted.
He said that many notable Nigerians had condemned the EFCC’s methods, including former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, who questioned the legality of the agency and criticised its operations.
“More worrisome is the EFCC’s practice of ‘naming and shaming’ citizens through media trials. This has become a normalised strategy due to the public’s distrust in the justice system. The agency bypasses the courts and engages in media trials, a mild form of jungle justice, taking advantage of the people’s loss of faith in the judiciary,” Timothy added. (Guardian)
