The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been criticized by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for taking away the bail that was originally given to Mallam Abubakar Malami, the former Attorney-General of the Federation.
The party, which stated that making the battle against corruption political itself corruption, called the anti-graft agency’s decision to revoke Malami’s bail “partisan politics” and not law enforcement, according to the Sunday Independent.
The ADC said again that the party supports the EFCC and any other anti-corruption agency in its job of looking into crimes. However, it warned that picking and choosing which investigations to do or using investigations as weapons against opposition leaders hurts the real fight against corruption in the country and makes anti-corruption agencies part of the government’s efforts to silence dissent and opposition.
According to a statement made yesterday in Abuja by Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, the former Attorney-General did not break any of the legal terms that came with his first bail.
The party claimed, “So, taking away his bail, especially after he went to a political rally in his home state of Kebbi, could give the impression that the action was taken to limit his politics instead of to seek justice.”
ADC said that the EFCC’s decision to revoke Malami’s bail was politically motivated and that “from all available evidence, Malami did not violate any of the legal conditions attached to his initial bail.” He knows what it means to break bail conditions because he is a senior lawyer and was the country’s top law officer. But he probably didn’t know that going to a political event in his native state of Kebbi to further his goal of becoming governor could be enough for the EFCC to take away his bail, even if he has completely cooperated with the agency’s investigators.
“For the record, ADC sees corruption as one of the biggest risks to the survival of our country. So, we wholeheartedly support any real attempts to hold public officials responsible. But we are very worried that some of the EFCC’s actions and lack of action make it look like the agency is a gladiator in the political arena instead of an unbiased warrior against financial wrongdoing.
“Revoking Malami’s bail only after he had attended a political gathering makes one question the EFCC’s intentions, and wonder on which side of the political split the agency is fighting, and whether it is not breaking the very same laws it pretends to uphold.
“By preventing a citizen from engaging in political activity, the EFCC usurps powers not granted to it by the Constitution. No government agency has the authority to suspend political rights, redraw political boundaries, or decide where a citizen’s political interests can or cannot be expressed. One can only conclude that the EFCC’s ultimate goal is to stop him from running for office in Kebbi State because this restriction only applies to that state.
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