A former chairperson of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Farida Waziri has launched an attack against her predecessor Nuhu Ribadu, The Punch reports.
In a statement by her Personal Assistant, Mrs. Omolara Oluremi, Waziri who was reacting to an allegation by Ribadu that she had hand in his removal said he was a recipient of slush funds distributed by the PDP.
She said, “My attention has been drawn to a reckless and irresponsible statement credited to Nuhu Ribadu at a function on Wednesday in Abuja, where he, as has been his rhetoric since 2008 when I succeeded him as the EFCC Chairman, attempted to malign me by accusing me of being part of his imaginary enemies, who frustrated the nation’s anti-graft war.
“If Nuhu is yet to face the reality that the EFCC is a Federal Government agency and not a personal estate of anybody eight years after, I find it compelling to remind him, otherwise, one day he would wake up to blame me for his defeat in the 2011 presidential election and even his pathetic outing in the 2015 governorship election in Adamawa State despite the slush funds deployed to ensure his victory at the polls.”
Waziri also alleged that under Ribadu’s leadership between 2003 and 2007, billions of recovered loot was not documented.
She added, “There is also the need to remind Nuhu that before he succumbs to another logorrhea, he should avail himself a copy of the investigative report on recovered assets during his tenure as EFCC chairman and use the opportunity of the next ceremony or birthday party he is invited to, to explain to Nigerians what happened to billions of funds and assets recovered from suspects under him, with no records or documentation.
“He should be grateful to me that I cleaned his mess by creating an Assets Forfeiture Unit to put the records straight and do things rightly.”
She added, “No matter how hard Nuhu tries to obliterate my tenure with his numerous lies, the record of over 450 convictions secured during my three and a half-year sojourn in the EFCC remains indelible.
“Though I inherited about 10 high-profile cases from him in 2008, we took over 75 of such high-profile cases to courts, with another 1,500 low-profile cases pending in courts as of my exit in November 2011. We initiated and commenced work on the permanent office complex of the EFCC sitting on a 5.5 hectares of land along Airport Road, Abuja, in addition to inaugurating offices in Maiduguri, Borno State and Ibadan, Oyo State to expand the commission’s scope of operations.”
Ribadu had, in a paper he presented at the 2016 annual lecture organised by the Law Chambers of Chief Joe Gadzama (SAN), on Friday, accused Waziri and a former Attorney General of the Federation, Michael Aondoakaa, of promoting corruption.
He had said, “He (Aondoakaa) attempted to take over the prosecutorial powers of the commission, which would have rendered the EFCC to 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.
“For the Halliburton scandal, corrupt practices that were unheard of became widespread and outside lawyers were brought in to handle very important cases that sometimes were turned into avenues of making money.”
Dolapo is a writer and journalist who works with YNaija. He has interests in Christianity, politics and sports.
Comment:More grease to your elbows Mr Chairman. Initially, I thought corruption has come to stay permanently, fortunately, the emergence of President Muhammad Buhari couple with people like you in the fight against it has put some hope in the minds of many Nigerians including my humble self. Many Nigerians use to that bribery and corruption is part. of us., through an adage which says ” if you cannot beat them ,join them “