Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) chairman Mrs. Farida Waziri yesterday faulted the Human Rights Watch verdict on Nigeria’s anti-corruption fight.
She also said that the EFCC would not be stampeded by the HRW to adopt a draconian approach in fighting corruption.
Mrs Waziri, who made her position known in Abuja at an interactive session with reporters to mark her first year in office, said despite criticisms, the EFCC has a success story to tell.
The global rights group had in a June 5 letter accused the administration of President Umaru Yar’Adua of weakening the EFCC.
But Mrs Waziri said HRW wanted a draconian approach to the anti-corruption crusade, which is untenable in a democratic environment.
She said: “I don’t agree with their position. I just don’t know what they want. They want people handcuffed, manacled, dragged on the streets that they are corrupt people. But we cannot afford to do this. It is not done like that around the world anymore; we cannot afford to be different from the rest of the world. We have to observe world best practices in dealing with the menace.
“They feel that we are not there (working) because we are quiet, we are not calling people names, we are not going from one house to the other to say ‘this man is guilty’; we are not sending thousands of policemen to grab people. We won’t do that in a democratic environment.”
She also asked the HRW to turn its searchlight on Western nations where looted funds are being stashed by corrupt elements from this country.
Mrs Waziri added: “They have records but it suits them to keep quiet. They know Nigerians that steal money to open bank accounts abroad but they are keeping quiet because it is servicing their own economy.”
On calls for capital punishment for looters, she said: “I know that in China and Saudi Arabia, there is capital punishment for corruption but I won’t say we should have capital punishment in Nigeria.”
On the controversial case files of 31 former governors, Mrs. Waziri said: “I have never said that any file was missing or stolen or destroyed. I cannot come here lying to you because God who put me there is watching me. Posterity will judge me.
“If my predecessors had left 31 case files, the first thing I would have done was to carry the 31 case files to court.
“So, it wasn’t so. I have to work day and night to build case files. We are still investigating some of these ex-governors.
“What Nigerians should bear in mind is that criminal cases have no statute bar. We are still investigating, no time limit for that.”
On some high profile cases, the EFCC chairman said: “I met some of these case files at initial stages where there were petitions; statements recorded and documents retrieved.”
On former Rivers State Governor Peter Odili, Waziri said the EFCC had gone on appeal against an order of perpetual injunction against his prosecution.
She added: “There was this obnoxious court order restraining us. We have assigned the case to a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and the case is on appeal.”
On the challenges she is facing in office, she identified the stalling of the trial of many suspects in court as a major problem.
She said: “I have been crying out that cases are stalled. Cases that were filed by my predecessors are stalled. As soon as a suspect is arraigned in court, what these lawyers do is to first of all challenge the jurisdiction of the court, even if it is trite law.
“The delay in trying suspects has implications. The witnesses get tired; some witnesses may die and some of them may relocate from one place to another.
“I have compiled a case diary that stands the test of time. All I have to do is to monitor the trial; tender exhibits and ensure diligent prosecution. So, this is what is frustrating us.”
Replying to a question, Mrs. Waziri said she had survived in office against all odds.
She said: “You will recall that by this time last year, nobody, including myself, thought that I would survive what went on that time. But I was able to weather the storm. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the support that I have received from the press.
“It is only from the press that you hear the blunt truth. If you have a friend that tells you the truth, he or she is a sincere friend.
“It was a daunting task, very challenging but I took the gauntlet. Today, I have a success story. I think we have not done badly.
“The country belongs to all of us; if we succeed, we succeed together. If we fail, we all have to pay dearly for it. This country has no reason being poor. God has been so kind to us. We have good land and mineral resources; it is just this aspect of economic crimes and corruption that is affecting us.”
Asked if she is prepared to face the consequences of her action in office and lay down her life, Mrs Waziri said: “I am prepared because when you believe in a cause, you have to lay down your life for that cause.
“You could see what they did to my sister, Prof. Dora Akunyili. So, if you are going into a cause that you believe in, you should prepare for anything. Nothing comes to me as a surprise in this country.”
“The truth is that you cannot eradicate corruption but you can minimise it to the level that it would appear as it does not exist again.
“Nigeria is a kind of country that people who sit on the fence want to criticise, I want to say that fighting corruption is everybody’s fight; one single agency cannot fight or eradicate it in this country or anywhere in the world; it is everybody’s efforts, people like you and me.
“People who feel they can dictate whatever they want or feel like they are more than us but this country belongs to all of us, we cannot afford to be second class citizens in our country.
“But I find the attitude disturbing when people just sit and criticise with no solution.
“What have these people done to contribute to the crusade? Those people would talk as if they have all the answers but these are the people if given the opportunity they would steal more than those they are criticising. They are feeling like that just because they have not had the opportunity, we have seen some of those critics, when they get there, they perform worse.”