Abubakar MahmoudNigeria’s anti-corruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is at war with the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, over a call by the new NBA President that the EFCC cannot investigate and prosecute corruption suspects at the same time.
The best practice would be for the EFCC to focus on prosecution and financial intelligence gathering, while another body prosecutes, said the newly sworn-in President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Abubakar Mahmoud.
Mr. Mahmoud, who spoke at the his inaugural speech delivered in Port Harcourt last Friday, advocated a reform of the anti-graft agency that would include limiting its mandate to investigation.
“The critical institutions involved must be repositioned, re-equipped and re-tooled to confront the problem of corruption on a consistent and sustainable basis,” Mr. Mahmoud, a senior Advocate of Nigeria, had said.
“As a start, we commend the efforts of the Economic and Financial Crimes Institution for the work it is doing and for its modest achievements.
“However, going forward, the NBA must demand the reform of the institution itself. We need to define its mandate more narrowly and more clearly.
“In my view, its broad objective as an investigative and prosecurial agency should be reviewed. “I recommend strongly that the EFCC be limited to investigation.”
But the EFCC erupted in anger, describing some lawyers as corrupt and “rogues”. It said it was clever an attempt by Mr. Mahmoud and the NBA to whittle down the powers of the EFCC and defeat President Muhammadu Buhari’s fight against corruption.
But in a counterreaction, the Nigerian Bar Association on Tuesday condemned the statement credited to the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu, calling lawyers rogues.
The NBA, in a statement signed by its General Secretary, Isiaka Abiola Olagunju, called on the commission to withdraw the statement and to tender and unreserved apology.
NBA said: “The inaugural address of the NBA President was a statement of nearly 30 pages, which set his vision and direction of his programmes for the Nigerian legal profession. He committed himself to leading a brave new Bar fully aligned with the aspirations of Nigerians in their quest for national development which can only be anchored on the rule of law built on strong institutions.
“In the paragraph of the statement dealing with corruption, the NBA president restated the commitment of the NBA in the fight against corruption. He commended the modest achievement of the EFCC but called for the reform of the agency to enhance its capability to deliver on its mandate on a consistent and sustainable basis devoid of political interference and on the basis of well established institution safeguard that demands proper regulation of the wide discretionary power involved in the investigation and prosecution of criminal matters.
“The NBA condemns in the strongest term the use of abusive and uncivil language of ‘rogues and vultures’ and such structures by the public authority. Name calling and abusive language is not expected of any public institution. It is unacceptable. The NBA demands an unequivocal withdrawal of these statements and unreserved apology from the EFCC.”
The association called on the EFCC to endeavour to get its facts correctly before making statements or insinuations.