Onetime Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Nuhu Ribadu, has alleged that the former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa and a former Chairman of EFCC, Mrs. Farida Waziri attempted to destroy the anti-graft agency by “inflicting serious damage” on the agency during his tenure.
Ribadu made the allegation yesterday during the paper presentation at the 2016 Annual Lecture organised by the Law Chambers of Chief Joe Kyari Gadzama, with the theme: “Corruption and the Nation’s economy: Lawyers as change agents.”
The former anti-graft agency boss maintained that lawyers were equally doing “serious damage” to the war against corruption.
Insisting that Aondoakaa frustrated the prosecution of so many high profile cases, Ribadu said the former “later found a partner in Mrs. Farida Waziri who inflicted serious damage on the EFCC from which the commission is still struggling to recover.”
Mrs. Waziri took over from Ribadu as chairman of the EFCC.
Stressing that some senior lawyers were working against the anti-corruption war, Ribadu said, “One thing that also did a serious damage to the war against corruption was the active connivance of some senior lawyer who represented the governors we charged to courts after the 2007 election.
“It is on record that we charged the former governors of Jigawa, Taraba, Adamawa, Plateau, Enugu, Ekiti, Delta, Abia and Edo states as the first set of ex-governors to face prosecution.
“However, almost 10 years after, most of the cases have not gone anywhere because of deliberate action by lawyers to frustrate the trials. Farida Waziri, EFCC boss
“Surprisingly, some lawyers who found themselves in government, also worked against the fight against corruption.
“Take the case of Mr. Michael Aondoakaa, whose most cardinal agenda as the AGF seemed to be destroying EFCC by every means possible and frustrating all the cases.
“In that regard, he attempted to take over the prosecutorial powers of the commission, which would have rendered the EFCC a toothless bulldog. But, of course, we resisted.
“He later found a partner in Mrs. Farida Waziri, who inflicted serious damage on the EFCC from which the commission is still struggling to recover.”
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