Why Bankole, Nafada Are Facing Criminal Charges Alone, by Waziri

Daily Independent (Lagos)

Alexandra Mede

29 June 2011

Abuja — Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has defended its non-inclusion of other principal officers of the sixth House of Representatives in the criminal charge of illegal procurement of N37.7 billion loan against former Speaker, Dimeji Bankole, and his deputy, Usman Nafada.

According to the anti-graft agency, the facts of the matter have not indicted any other official and the commission cannot just include them for the sake of it.

EFCC Chairman, Farida Waziri, said this in her office on Wednesday in a chat with newsmen during a courtesy visit of national officers of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).

Waziri emphasised that investigation of Bankole and Nafada is not personal.

“It is not personal and that is a fact. We have a job to do. What I look at when a case is before me is the facts of the case as can be presented before a court of competent jurisdiction to sustain the charge. And that is what we do.”

Waziri reiterated that her commission only takes action in a case of graft only after a prima facie case has been established and a thorough examination carried out by a team of legal experts.

Even though she would not comment extensively on the matter since it is already in the court, the EFCC boss insisted: “We don’t go to court for the fun of it and we don’t just join anybody for the fun of it”.

Waziri added that the cases the commission is preparing against immediate past state Governors have not been swept under the carpet, saying rather, good progress is being made by operatives in the field.

She alleged attacks on her person since she assumed office as helmsman of the anti-corruption commission, explaining that people were recruited at the outset to carry out campaigns of calumny against the leadership.

“Since I came into office, there have been consistent and persistent attacks on my person and the leadership of this commission by recruited people because of the way I came in and I became a victim.”

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