RECENTLY, The Associated Press reported the hacking into the website of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The hackers, who called themselves, NaijaCyberHacktivists, claimed the attack, which replaced the EFCC usual home page with a warning, was a response to suggestions by the Federal Government to censor Internet content.The unauthorized access to the commission's computer data might look coincidental but the EFCC spokesman, Femi Babafemi, blamed the assault on corrupt politicians.'The volume of information on the site poses a lot of threats to some of the people we prosecute,' he said, while revealing that it was the fifth time the commission's website had been attacked.Babafemi's declaration sums up the challenges the EFCC and its leadership face in the statutory war against the pervading corruption in the country.Indeed, the consensus is that the bill to amend the EFCC Act in the House of Representatives is targeted at clipping the wings of the anti-graft agency, and in the process get its chairman, Mrs. Farida Waziri, out of the way.The bill, sponsored by Mr. Bassey Ewa, seeks to replace the headship of the commission with only serving or retired jurists at the level of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal. Waziri, a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), would no longer be qualified to head the commission if the planned amendment, which has passed its second reading, scaled through.Although the House leadership had denied that the amendment of the EFCC Act was directed at Waziri, the body language of the lawmakers and other politicians, particularly the governors, points to the contrary.Confronted on the proposed amendment, the Speaker of the House, Aminu Tambuwal, went philosophical. 'The House will always be guided by the opinion of the public on its activities,' he told newsmen at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.On whether the House was planning to remove the EFCC chairman, the Speaker said: 'This lady (Waziri), who is replacing her' There is a debate on the floor of the House; it is not yet concluded.'IF the Speaker was diplomatic in his response to the raging issue, the sponsor of the bill, Bassey Ewa, definitely aims at removing Waziri from her post.On Wednesday, October 26, 2011, during the passage of the second reading of the bill for an Act to amend the EFCC Act, Cap. E1 LFN 2004 and for Other Related Matters, Ewa said the amendment would correct the 'susceptibility of the occupant (of the agency) to be used as a political tool against perceived enemies.'Meaning that the government had used Waziri to hunt and hound its political enemies.For special effect, other lawmakers, who contributed to the debate on the amendment, criticised the commission under Waziri. They specifically contended that EFCC's accommodation of anonymous petitions violated the Evidence Act, which requires a petitioner to be identified and placed as a witness. Which may explain why the bill seeks to outlaw anonymous whistle-blowing.Also significant is the statement credited to Governor Rotimi Amaechi: that the EFCC was (merely) shooting for his colleague former governors.Being Chairman of the influential and powerful Governors' Forum, Amaechi could have spoken for past and present state executives.Also recall that before the April 2011 elections, thousands of women and youths from the 23 local government areas of Rivers State, led by the chairmen of their various councils, demonstrated at the Isaac Boro Park in Port Harcourt, condemning the EFCC attempt to arrest the governors' aides over alleged graft.The protesters wore assorted T-shirts, bearing various inscriptions, denouncing the EFCC. Some of the inscriptions read: 'EFCC, the Nigeria Gestapo' EFCC, obey Court order. Court is Supreme; EFCC, please, obey the law; EFCC, Stop Grassroots Intimidation; EFCC is not above the law; Farida Waziri, you are not above the law; Adhere to the Rule of Law.'Some posters pasted under the bridge of the Park read: 'They (EFCC) came haunting just before the 2007 elections; they are back now just before the 2011 elections. We know the trick, and it will fail now, like it did in 2007.'So, who are actually behind the move to amend the EFCC Act and thus, reduce its powers, and get rid of Mrs. Waziri from the agency, as alleged'NONETHELESS, many Nigerians, individually or in groups, have condemned the planned amendment of the EFCC Act and particularly the alleged move to replace Mrs. Waziri with a judge. To them, the action of the House of Representatives is aimed at whittling the powers of the EFCC so that corrupt politicians could escape the law with their loot.For instance, the National Vice-Chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Senator Joseph Waku, has asked members of the House to have a rethink on their plan to amend the Act, which, he described as self-serving.He said: 'It is public knowledge that the EFCC, of recent has charged a significant number of serving and past members of the House to court over alleged involvement in corruption cases.'These people are bitter and will naturally want to fight back. The only logical thing is to mobilise their colleagues on the floor of the House of Representatives to engage the EFCC leadership or whittle down its powers.'As such, if the House is now initiating processes to amend the EFCC Act with full concentration on qualifications of who occupies the position of the commission's chairman, the only logical conclusion that can be drawn is that the process is targeting the current head of the agency for obvious reasons.'The House has, in particular, lately suffered a lot of damages to its image and the ongoing effort should not be allowed to further lower the public perception of the green chamber of the National Assembly.'As representatives of the people of Nigeria, I will want to urge our lawmakers to reconsider their position so that ordinary Nigerians will not take it that the House is only fighting a proxy war for its members facing corruption charges.'Indeed, there are indications that the lawmakers have commenced move to ease out Mrs. Waziri due to the alleged failure of the National Assembly leadership to stave off the reported corruption trial of 13 of its members.Waziri allegedly shunned the lawmakers' pressure to stop the prosecution of their colleagues.
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