The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) is concerned that the present Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) leadership, led by Abdurrashid Bawa, is losing steam too quickly.
The teenagers remarked that the agency needed to tighten its belt and stop the decline in operating standards.
Alhaji Yerima Shettima, National President of the forum, in a statement made available to Newsmen in Kaduna on Saturday said, “We have been following closely the action of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission( EFCC) hasty moves to nail another Northern Governor, Mohammed Bello Matawalle. We feel duly concerned to call out the EFCC, led by Abdurrashid Bawa to desist from this repeated embarrassment of starting what it cannot finish. The EFCC as an institution of public service that is crucial to sanitizing Nigeria should not be pulled down by the actions of one man.
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“The forum rejects the strategy of media trial because it downgrades not just the operational standards of the agency but it amounts to deliberate policy of intimidation.”
The forum stated that the Rule of Law is a crucial component in a democratic setting such as Nigeria’s since it strengthens the constitutional rights and privileges of all Nigerians, unlike in a military dictatorship.
“The EFCC is meant to be an agency of uncompromising standards that should be a reflection of our domestic and international image in the fight against corruption,” the statement said.
It was reported that Governor Matawalle was able to stabilize Zamfara State better than his predecessors due to his revamped security approach.
It questioned why the EFCC was purposefully attempting to undermine these praiseworthy achievements by bringing a media trial in broad daylight, and why Belsha Printing Press, which Matawalle built before becoming State Governor, was shut down today.
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“What kind of law gave the agency the powers to shut down a private business that predates the owner’s emergence as governor? This is really distractive for a Governor giving Zamfara his best shot,” the statement added.
It was highlighted that as a group, it is intriguing that individuals targeted for media trials are Northerners and why this selective approach is evident in an organization that is intended to be national in scope.
The group requested President Muhammadu Buhari to summon the EFCC chairman and order him to cease harming the current administration’s image.
It added that the present EFCC boss was being held in contempt, and that several Nigerians were going to haul him to court.
“We thought the recent court judgement that ordered he should be remanded in prison would serve as a warning for his series of actions that amounted to courts contempt. In other countries, where courts really mean business, nothingbwould have stopped the EFCC Chairman from going to prison following such a court’s verdict. Credible intelligence at our disposal has shown that there are no fewer than 3,000 contempt cases hanging on the neck of the EFCC because of the Chairman’s approach to issues. This is getting out of hand.
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Most significantly, Nigeria is not a banana republic, which the EFCC Chairman should remember.
“Let the world know that we are following the EFCC’s actions and judging their performance as a public service agency as citizens and activists,” the statement said.
It added, “Our advice to the EFCC is that it should strive to project its original image of an agency meant to fight corruption using the instrumentality of the law, under a democratic atmosphere. The agency should always do their homework well before making their presence in the media on any matter.”
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