A number of questions were raised as to the quiet disposition of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as the political process hots up, unlike the situation that prevailed in the 2007 transition era. Group Politics Editor, Taiwo Adisa, takes a look at the different scenarios surrounding the anti-graft agency under different leaderships.When a list of politicians being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was made public late last year, the media publicised it as the commissions advisory list to the political parties. Many had thought that the EFCC was back to its tracks as witnessed in the pre-2007 election season.Ahead of the 2007 elections, the commission churned out a number of advisory lists on corrupt politicians. The intention was to get the political parties to stop such persons from seeking elective offices.Chairman of the EFCC at the time, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, was the cynosure of all eyes at every occasion during the pre-election season. His words were like laws; it was even said that Ribadu made and unmade governors and that he had a hand in the making of the YarAdua presidency.Some stories abound as to how Ribadu almost unilaterally stopped the push to name former governor of Rivers State, Dr Peter Odili, as the running mate to the late President Umaru YarAdua and the national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2007. Ribadu was also said to have tracked funds meant for election purposes by opposition parties and stalled the movement of such funds, thus allegedly stalling the preparations by opposition parties.His efforts aimed at stopping some of those indicted by his commission from contesting the 2007 elections however led to court cases and it turned out that the courts declared that a list of indictment like the one compiled by the EFCC cannot be used to disqualify candidates from seeking elective offices.In the 2011 scenario, the chairman of the commission, Mrs Farida Waziri, however, alerted the nation that what was released to the public was a list of politicians and non-politicians alike who were being investigated by the commission. Many of those on the list have had their cases charged to court. Waziri quickly dissociated her commission from the old path channeled by the pioneer chairman of the commission, Mallam Ribadu. Ribadus EFCC was loud in its activities and its attention was more on the Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), politicians and office holders, who easily grabbed the headlines. That disposition made the current EFCC appear silent and, to some, a sleeping giant. Some of those who hold such views would say that the type of frenzy that was witnessed in the build-up to the 2007 elections was completely missing in the 2011 process.In the 2011 election process, the EFCC has been less visible, prompting the question whether the commission was sleeping on duty or actually working on its toes. Insiders in the commission, however, submitted that the difference between the activities of the EFCC in 2007 and 2011 elections is simply a matter of style. They claimed that while Ribadu adopted the rash and, sometimes, abrasive style which, in some cases, brands the suspect as guilty before the charge, the current commission is working under an administration which adheres strictly to the tenets of rule of law.A recent dig into the activities of the commission also revealed that while Waziri has chosen not to ply the noisy mode in persecuting the anti-graft war, as against the mode applied by Ribadu, the measure seems to be yielding positive results.For instance, a publication made available to Nigerias foreign partners recently showed that the commission has recovered the sum of nine billion dollars, earlier siphoned from the Nigerian economy by different sources.On its formation in 2000, the EFCC is charged with the responsibility to tackle financial crimes, including advance fee fraud (419); money laundering; counterfeiting; illegal charge transfers; future market fraud; fraudulent encashment of negotiable instruments; computer credit card fraud; contract scam, cyber crime among others.The commission is also the coordinating agency for the enforcement of the provisions of the Money Laundering Act 2004 (as amended); the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences 1995; the Failed Banks ( Recovery of Debts) and Financial Malpractices in Banks Act (as amended); Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 1991(as amended), Miscellaneous Offences Act and any other law or regulation relating to economic and financial crimes, including the Criminal Code and Penal Code.The commission also maintains data, statistics, records and reports on persons, organisations, proceeds, properties, documents, assets and other items related to economic and financial crimes. Its mandate also includes undertaking research into and determining the magnitude of economic and financial crimes, as well as advising government on appropriate intervention measures to combat such crime.On a comparative basis, records of the commission show that within two and half years of Mrs Waziri, the commission has charged more than 65 high profile cases to court. This is against 10 that were instituted in court during Ribadus tenure.The commission has also secured more than 150 convictions in courts while more than 1,500 different cases are being prosecuted.This is in addition to the recovery of assets and funds in excess of nine billion dollars as against four billion dollars recovered in five years of the previous chairman (Ribadu) is one of the high points of the current silent style of prosecuting the anti-graft war, said a source at the commission last week.A put together by the commission and obtained by the Nigerian Tribune also indicated that the EFCC has witnessed some changes in its mode of operation, organisational structures, operational arrangements and administrative development.Waziri was said to have met a national institution when she came on board, but that within the short time, she has translated it into a world class institution. One in-house journal describes Waziris EFCC thus: What we are doing is to take a long-range perspective of things, to build an institution that will survive the vicissitudes of time and season; a workforce that is competent and competitive, fully-motivated and positioned for all challenges.We have been able to respond to the dynamics of our nation, changing the perception of the people who have been seeing the commission as a Gestapo-like commission to the image of a friendly, highly-focused and result-generating law enforcement agency.The journey, so far, has been quite challenging, but God has been helping us. There have been a number of things that we have been able to put in place.The report indicated that the commission started a process of administrative revitalisation, restructuring, re-orientation, repositioning and rebranding when Waziri came on board.The commission, according to the report, also employed the services of Price Water House Coopers to study its administrative structures with a view to coming up with a blueprint that will guarantee a career path for officers, motivate them and enhance the realisation of the EFCCs mandate.Besides, the commission also flagged off a process of training and recruiting fresh officers who will take over from all officers (especially policemen) seconded to the commission from other agencies. The objective, it was learnt, was to ensure that the EFCC builds a virile and autonomous workforce for itself.Waziri, according to the report obtained on the commission, has also got Federal Executive Council (FEC)s approval for insurance cover for staff and assets of the commission with effect from February 2010. This, according to the commission, is designed as a means of encouraging staff to put in their best during operations.It is obvious that the perceived silence of the anti-graft commission, under President Goodluck Jonathan, has not been for nothing. While the Farida Waziri-led EFCC might have been more silent than the previous leaders of the commission, statistics being reeled out show that the silence is yielding returns.In two years, the nation has recouped over nine billion dollar stolen funds compared to four billion dollars recovered by the Ribadu-led EFCC in five years.
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