A former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has accused the judiciary of aiding corrupt Nigerians.
Ribadu stated this in an interview published in Zero Tolerance, a publication of the financial watchdog.
On a recent statement that former Delta Governor, James Ibori, was cleared of corruption by the judiciary in Nigeria, he asked, “How many people have been cleared by our judiciary?
“A judge even said one man should not even be taken to court. So, there are many Nigerians getting away with the help of the judiciary. The judiciary is also part of the challenge. Not to say that all judges are bad, no. There are judges that got a lot of them convicted.
“Even in the case of Ibori, a Federal High Court Judge sent him to prison and kept him there for two and a half months. He was a judge that exhibited unbelievable honesty, integrity, competence and knowledge of the law. He is also a Nigerian, let’s celebrate him and forget the other judge that gave our country a bad name,” he said.
Ribadu added, “There are worse people than James Ibori in Nigeria. I think probably Ibori was not the smartest one among them. There are some crooks worse than Ibori; and I still see them. Some of them are even being celebrated right now in our country. Some of them are trying to re-write history. Ibori didn’t handle his own criminal affairs smartly, and he ended up paying dearly for it. There are smarter crooks than Ibori, who did more damage to the EFCC; but God will judge them.”
When asked why he prosecuted a former Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun, the former EFCC boss replied, “Well, the point is that whoever crosses the line will be dealt with; whether a constable or an Inspector- General of Police, it’s the same thing. The solution is not to cross the line.
“When you execute your mandate honestly, you become blind to the position of individuals. Justice is blind. So, Tafa Balogun was my boss as the IGP, but he crossed the line. He did things that were wrong and was brought to our attention, and the law took its course” he added.
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