EFCC Has Become A Tool To Fighting Personal And Political Fights — Paul Usoro, SAN

President of the Nigerian Bar Association, (NBA) Paul Usoro,
SAN, has said that the Economic and Financial Crime Commission
(EFCC) has become a tool used in fighting personal and political
fights.

Mr. Usoro made this statement in a press statement on the
alleged purported money laundering charges levelled against
him.

In the statement which was released on the 19th day of December
2018, the NBA President has said that the anti-graft agency
activities do not affect him, but the NBA and its independence.

See Full Statement:

1. Yesterday, 18 December 2018, I locked horns with the forces
that seek to eclipse us as lawyers and destabilize and destroy the
very foundations of our Association. There may still be a few of us
who believe that the charges against me in Charge No. FHC/L/418C/18
are personal to me. They are not. What is at stake in this Charge
is well beyond me as a person and includes, only in part, the right
of a lawyer to earn his living and, in my instance, my fees,
without being criminalized, hounded, persecuted and unlawfully
regulated and audited by the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (“EFCC”). What has been dressed up as money laundering
charges is nothing more than trumped-up charges that not only serve
personal vendetta motives but also seek to subvert, intimidate,
humiliate and subjugate the Nigerian Bar Association.

2 What is at stake, in a larger sense, is the right of the NBA
to exist and function as an independent and vibrant association of
lawyers. It definitely cannot be a coincidence that the targeted
investigation of my Firm’s account by the EFCC was commenced in or
about May 2018 – in respect of fees that were paid between 2015 and
2016 – in the heat of the NBA Election campaigns and there were
indeed publicized attempts by the agency to arraign me on the same
trumped up charges prior to the elections as a means of ensuring
that I do not participate thereat. These EFCC campaigns continued,
with some help from a few of our colleagues, even after the
elections and traditionally becomes very prominent and pronounced
close to any significant NBA activity such as the last NEC meeting
that was held on 06 December 2018. These are attempts by outside
forces to institute NBA regime change through the backdoor and in
the process stifle and destroy our independence and vibrancy as an
association.

3. What is also at stake is the right of Nigerian citizens to
have law enforcement institutions that are not used to fight
personal and/or political fights. Unfortunately, that is what the
EFCC has become: a tool for fighting personal and political fights.
The agency and its top officials lend themselves to be so used in
settling personal and political scores. My current travails have
their roots, in parts, in vendetta missions that go right back to
the 2015 Akwa Ibom State Elections and the 2016/2017 Code of
Conduct Tribunal trials of the Senate President, Distinguished
Senator Bukola Saraki. In the course of my current struggles, I
have heard several stories of how institutions of State have been
so subverted and used to settle personal and political scores.
Indeed, it has been suggested that the NBA may have acquiesced to
these subversions by its silence. That silence must cease, and we
must rise up against these unlawful conducts.

4. What is also at stake in my on-going saga is the corruption
and impunity of state agencies such as the EFCC. The corruption,
impunity and arrogance of the EFCC comes in different forms and is
evident, amongst others, in its abuse of investigatory and
prosecutorial powers, sometimes acting outside its statutory powers
and limits. It is also evident in its orchestrated media trials and
campaigns that willfully seek to assassinate and destroy the names
and characters of defendants ahead of any criminal trial. They are
actively playing those cards in my on-going trial and in several
other so-called high-profile matters that they investigate and/or
prosecute. It is in our collective interest that we stand up to
these corrupt practices and indeed stand up to all forms of
corruption, impunity and arrogance in government institutions and
agencies, including disobedience of court order sand in their modus
operandi.

5. As President of the Bar, I have been privileged to hear
testimonies from some of our colleagues and Nigerians generally on
the impunity and corrupt practices of some of these agencies.
Perhaps, the NBA could have done much better in standing up to some
of these institutions and curbing their excesses. But then, it is
never too late to do the right thing and I do intend to use my
office as President of the Bar to achieve that aim. We must point
the searchlight at some of these dark recesses of our state
agencies and institutions. We mustx-ray their modus operandi in a
manner that would ensure, amongst others, that (a) our courts are
not made toothless through the disobedience of court orders by
these institutions of State and their officials; (b) the will of
Nigerian people are not subverted in the coming 2019 elections; and
(c) Nigerian people are not generally subjugated and oppressed by
institutions and agencies that are paid from our taxes to serve
us.

5. As your President, I will not abandon or shirk my
responsibility to be in the forefront of this fight, including the
fight for the independence of our judiciary. To that extent, I
appear, with pride, to answer the charges before the Courts in
Charge Number FHC/L/418C/18 and I will keep you fully informed of
every step and action taken in that Charge, in keeping with my
administration’s policy of full disclosures. As it relates to the
Charge, I insist on a fair trial before an independent jurist who
does not have hanging over him the incubus of bias orits
likelihood. That is a right that enures to every Nigerian pursuant
to the provisions of our Constitution. It is in conformance to that
right that I applied, as was mentioned in court yesterday, for the
reassignment of this Charge by the Chief Judge of the Federal High
Court from the Court of Honorable Justice M S Hassan to any other
Judge of the same Court.

6. My letter in that regard is published with this my Statement
and sets out the reasons for my application. That application
remains pending before the Chief Judge and my conviction in that
regard remains constant and unshaken, to wit, that justice is best
served by not assigning EFCC matters to the Court of Honorable
Justice M S Hassan given his antecedent as an EFCC Prosecuting
Counsel from which office he was appointed to the Bench. I am even
more convinced of that position after today’s
proceedings and I must mention that this conviction is not personal
or limited only to my Charge; it is a position that applies across
board to any EFCC matter that may have been or is being assigned to
or handled by Honorable Justice M S Hassan.

7. In concluding, I perhaps also need to mention that I have, in
separate communication, kept Past Presidents of our Association
fully informed of my current trials and it is my understanding that
they are having discussions amongst themselves and will soon meet
to formulate a common position and issue a statement on the matter.
As soon as they do, I believe that this will also be communicated
to everyone. In the meantime, I not only remain focused on proving
my innocence before the law courts – thereby by extension
establishing the right of every one of us to earn our legitimate
fees without being hounded, criminalized and persecuted by the EFCC
–but also remain focused on delivering my promises to you as your
NBA President.

8 In the coming days, we would come out with Statements and
Releases that would let you know what we are doing in some of the
following key areas:

I. Monitoring of the 2019 National Elections and ensuring that
the will of our people is not subverted howsoever;
II. Ensuring that Court Orders are obeyed by our State institutions
and that the excesses of these institutions are curbed and
controlled to safeguard our democracy, independence of the
judiciary and the fundamental rights of the Nigerian people;
III. Development of our young lawyers and in particular, the
constitution of the Young Lawyers Forum and focusing the Forum on
mentoring and developmental issues;
IV. Planning of the 2019 Annual Conference and ensuring that it is
the best ever;
V. Facilitating electronic payment of 2019 Practice Fees by lawyers
and prompt issuance of Stamps to lawyers – a practice that we have
already greatly improved and will further enhance in the New
Year.
VI. The revamping of NBA website.

9. I was elected as your President with a mandate to change the
NBA landscape for the better and to advance the Association’s
course and this I am determined to do in all circumstances and
without flinching. I am even more resolute today in fulfilling this
mandate and ensuring that our Association lives up to its credo
while carrying aloft the Rule of Law flag, a strand of which
includes our rights as lawyers to earn decent and legitimate fees
without any form of intimidation and/or persecution. That right, I
will defend for the remainder of my term as President of the NBA
and beyond and with all the fiber of my strength. In like manner,
we must, as an Association of Lawyers, defend the rights of our
people to have functional State agencies and institutions that do
not operate corruptly and with impunity and do not subvert the will
of our people.

10. Finally, I must express my deep and sincere appreciation for
the overwhelming support that I have received from all of you, my
colleagues, both of the Inner and Outer Bar – and indeed, from
Nigerians generally. Most of you, lawyers and non-lawyers, have
journeyed from far and near, at personal cost and great sacrifice,
to attend court with me; others have called and/or sent messages of
encouragement and solidarity. I am truly humbled by your outpouring
of support and prayers. May the Good Lord bless all of you
abundantly particularly but beyond this Season of Good will.

11. Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Long live the
Nigerian Bar Association.

Paul Usoro, SAN
President

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