After a long wait that spans over eight months, President Muhammadu Buhari finally taken the bull by the horn as he terminated the appointment of his former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Engr. Babachir David Lawal and the former Director General National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Ayo Oke.

Albeit belated, the decision was applauded by Nigerians yesterday October 30, 2017, among which is the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).

A statement by its Deputy Director Timothy Adewale, states that “This is a positive development in the fight against grand corruption, although this decision is coming rather late. Buhari now has to go a step further by making sure that both Lawal and Oke are promptly brought to justice in fair trials.”

The opinion expressed by SERAP was re-echoed by other groups and individuals in the country as to the prosecution of the individuals by the EFCC but, the Presidency has rejected such through a tweet by one of the communication department  at the Presidency that the EFCC and ICPC are independent of the Presidency which has further dampen the euphoria that came with the termination of the affected individuals appointment.

A quick check has, however, made the claims of the government to be false claims. An example that readily comes to mind is the case of former NSA Sambo Dasuki. The federal government has shown a biased interest in the case despite its claims that it doesn’t influence decisions of prosecuting agencies in the country. The federal government have disallowed the man to enjoy all the bails granted to him by several courts including ECOWAS Court.

The federal government has done what can be termed  “go and sin no more” for the two individuals as we know the disposition of the EFCC when it comes to cases involving members of the ruling party in Nigeria.

Also, that the government spent a long period of time to make the decisions without making public the report of the Osinbajo Committee has also cast a doubt on the sincerity of the government in dealing with cases involving members of the ruling party.

Editor