The recent move to bring the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission under the direct control of the Judiciary did not come to Nigerians as a surprise. However, one is at a loss as to what informed the decision for a constitutional amendment that will place the EFCC under a high court judge.Indeed, the bill was pursued with so much gusto that gave the impression that there was fire on the mountain.The EFCC came into being under an Establishment Act of 2004 with the primary mandate to fight corruption which, even at that time, was a great threat to Nigerias nascent democracy. As a result, the Commission was mandated to fight corruption in all its ramifications both in the private and public sectors of the economy and, in my view, it has performed wonderfully well. Before the anti-corruption war went full blast, foreign investors had dubbed Nigeria a risk zone, as they lost billions of dollars to Nigerian 419 kingpins. It was a period when notorious 419 kingpins ruled the waves and behaved as if there were no laws governing certain aspects of public life.Today, the EFCC has turned the tide around in Nigerias favour. I believe that the commission has every reason to feel proud, what with the enviable record of recovering over $11bn and preventing the loss of over $15bn through scam business proposals and contracts.Through the EFCC, over 750 criminals have been convicted, while almost 2,000 unfinished cases are still outstanding in courts spread all over the country. And this is EFCCs greatest challenge, as the commission does not have any authority to accelerate court hearings. On many occasions, even the EFCC has been frustrated by the rigmarole of court processes.This intimidating record of the EFCC has also made Nigeria a more investment friendly nation as no investor will risk his capital in a nation where justice is not easily attainable. Most of the past cyber crimes, advance fee fraud and capital market fraud cases have been drastically reduced through the uncompromising and no-nonsense attitude of the Waziri-led commission.This being the case, why are we in such a hurry to change a winning team' Why is the EFCC always the butt of campaigns by those who are not comfortable with the fight against corruption'The most immediate reason for this veiled "Farida Waziri must go" cry is EFCCs implacable stance in the recent arrest and trial of some former governors. Some political observers believe that if EFCC is not contained now, the ripple effect will encapsulate more political office holders by the time their tenure expires.Also, sound reasoning and logic dictate that it is better to dispose of the present leadership of the EFCC while the opportunity is still handy. Yet, the depth of corruption into which the Nigerian judiciary has fallen in recent years is cause for concern.Corruption in the judiciary has reached such an embarrassing nadir that the new Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Dahiru Musdapher, has identified the cancer as one of his most urgent priorities and has already set up a committee to advise him on how to tackle corruption on the bench and to find a way of stamping it out.Obviously, there must have been a cogent reason for appointing serving or retired police officers to lead the anti-graft commission. This, in my view, is because most of the responsibilities of the commission border on police dutiesinvestigation, arrest, prosecution, etc. These are duties for which police have been trained. The duties of EFCC end with the arrest, investigation and prosecution of offenders. The trial and judgment of offenders is the sole responsibility of the judiciary.The law setting up the EFCC specifically tasks judges to give priority to EFCC cases over other matters pending before them. And if judges had hearkened to this directive, we will not have had almost 2,000 EFCC cases pending, including 75 high-profile ones.The plan to replace police officers with judges is not only self-serving and ill-motivated but highly irrelevant and non-sequiturs. Nigerians must always consider national interest far and above personal and parochial considerations.It is instructive that even with EFCC under the control of a non judicial officer, the most vital aspect of its duties is carried out by high court judges or any judge appointed by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court or the High Court of a state or the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.In my view, the EFCC is doing excellently well right now and it should be encouraged to carry on as long as it is on the right track.Nanaghan, public opinion analyst, wrote from 27, Olaniyi Street, Bariga, vide bennanaghan@yahoo.com
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