…it is even so shameful that the chairman is a lawyer and pastor
A chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State, Lere Olayinka, has called for a total reform of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to meet global best practices in the corrupting fight, saying that the anti-corruption agency was operating like a gathering of Motor Park touts.
Olayinka, in a statement in Abuja on Thursday, reacting to the invasion of a hotel in Lagos State at about 4 a.m. by armed operatives of the EFCC in which female staff and guests in the hotel were assaulted, called for the immediate sack of the commission’s chairman, Ola Olukoyede.
Update: I Was Paid ₦50,000 To Supply Ammunition To Bandits – Woman Confesses
Describing what the EFCC operatives did at the Regional Hotel, Lagos, as shameful, Olayinka lamented that “the way EFCC is going, one day, and very soon, its operatives will be mounting road blocks to stop commercial vehicles and arrest their passengers.”
He said either the EFCC Chairman is incompetent or he is complicit, adding that “Olukoyede, who announced to Nigerians on November 1, 2023, that he had banned sting operations at night, should be asked why operatives of the agency are still carrying out sting operations at night and assaulting innocent Nigerians in the process.
“Or is it at 4 a.m. that EFCC operatives invaded regional hotels in Isashi, Ojo, and Lagos State yesterday in the afternoon? 1:00 am that armed EFCC operatives invaded clubs and lounges in Akure, Ondo State, a few weeks ago was in the afternoon?
“It is becoming obvious that those in charge of the EFCC outside Abuja do not listen to Olukoyede, and it can only be a function of incompetence on his side. He should just be shown the exit doors before we witness another #EndSARS protest.”
While describing the arrest of the two operatives seen in the CCTV footage assaulting people at the hotel in Lagos State as an afterthought, Olayinka said, “If they were able to destroy CCTV cameras as they did in Akure, they would have defended their barbarism just as they defended the one they did in Akure.
“It is even so shameful that the chairman is a lawyer and pastor.”
Speaking on the need for the EFCC to stop being emotional and sentimental in carrying out its functions, the PDP chieftain said not all cases should be taken to court.
He said, “Imagine EFCC prosecuting one case for ten years, and at the end of the day, the case is dismissed. What will happen to the millions of naira spent by the EFCC to pay lawyers? Who will bear the costs incurred by the defendants? Isn’t it punishment for defendants to pay lawyers and go in and out of court for ten years?
“The question is, must the EFCC charge everyone to court, even when it is clear that the charges can’t be sustained? Or is the EFCC just doing this to find food for lawyers and its officials?”
He said in saner climes, anti-corruption agencies do their jobs quietly, adding that “no one fights corruption by invading bars, clubs, lounges, and student hostels at odd hours and standing on the roads to carry out random arrests. It is crude and primitive to arrest people randomly and clamp them in detention before finding out their culpability.”
