A pro-Democracy and Pro-transparency Non-governmental organisation -HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA ) has described as dubious and unprofessional the purported clearance by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of Danladi Umar the controversial Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal from alleged N10 million bribery scandal.
The Rights group has therefore challenged the hierarchy of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC ) to come forward for a public and media covered debate with Nigerian youth in attendance within the Federal Capital Territory so all parties could present to Nigerians the merits or demerits of this hurriedly packaged softlanding EFCC extended to Danladi Umar who is caught in the midst of the politically charged persecution of the Senate President Senator Bukola Saraki on charges of failure to appropriately declare his assets.
HURIWA has also lambasted the EFCC for the public show of shame that happened few days back when officials of the agency publicly presented the so- called anti graft ambassadorial award to the Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party only for this same agency to come under attack from the powers that be for this bold award only for EFCC to recant the award.
“This EFCC that only pursues the Directors of the PDP’S Presidential campaign organisation to find out how funds were deployed but looks the other way regarding how the APC deployed their own multibillion Naira campaign funds is surely politically tainted and must be reformed to give it the needed independence and freedom from either executive nor legislative control so as to deliver an effective anti graft campaigns devoid of political loyalty and patronage to the powers-that-be”.
In a statement signed jointly by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media affairs Director Miss Zainab Yusuf, HURIWA said the entire scenarios of this so- called clearance extended to Mr Danladi Umar the controversial Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal which was released to the media to coincide with the processes filed before the Code of Conduct Tribunal by a party challenging his Ethical qualifications to continue to preside over the Code of Conduct Tribunal are suspicious, to put it mildly.
HURIWA recalled that the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) says its chairman, Danladi Umar, has been cleared of a N10m-bribe allegation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Ibrahim Alhassan, spokesman of the tribunal said that the EFCC sent a letter to the tribunal on Wednesday (last week) clearing the CCT chairman of the allegation.
“The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has today conveyed a letter to the chairman Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Hon Danladi Yakubu Umar, exonerating him on the alleged N10 million bribe by one AbdulRashid Owolabi, in his petition to the commission,” Alhassan said.
“The letter was addressed to the secretary to government of the federation, captioned ‘RE: Investigation Report RE: N10million Bribery Allegation against the Chairman Code of Conduct Tribunal, Abuja.’ ‘With reference NO: EFCC/P/NHRU/688/V.30/99, dated 20th April, 2016.’
“The letter which was signed by Emmanuel Adegboyega Aremo, secretary to the commission reads: ‘Kindly recall our correspondence of 5th March, 2015, (reference EFCC/EC/SGF/03/56) with the above subject, please.”
But HURIWA insists that the hurriedly procured clearance letter was politically facilitated to enable the Tribunal under the Chairmanship of a person that is ethically challenged based on allegations of bribery to preside over the specific sessions of the trial of Senator Bukola Saraki so as to arrive at a Predetermined conclusion favourable to Mr President which is to bar Saraki from public office.
This whole drama playing itself out in the ethically challenged CCT in Abuja, according to HURIWA, were activated because the current President is quoted in the media to have expressed disgust at the emergence of the Kwara born but Fulani citizen Mr. Bukola Saraki as Senate President as against the zoning formula adopted by the National Executive Council of the All Progressives Congress which had favoured a political son of a Lagos based godfather but who hails from the North East of Nigeria.
“Knowing all the ramifications of this N10 million allegations against Mr Danladi Umar, HURIWA is shocked to read about this so -called clearance and we will be seeking a public media debate with the Chairman of the EFCC on this so Nigerians will clearly read between the line and realise that the EFCC is compromised politically and is out to do only the bidding of President Muhammadu Buhari and his political party and not to serve the public interest as expected of them in compliance with the enabling law setting it up and in line with the constitutional principle of the Rule of law.”
