We have watched and listened with keen interest the raging debate over a list of corrupt persons being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. In view of our position on issues that border on corruption, we have decided to make our position known to the public through this press statement.
The EFCC list that has divided opinions in the public sphere in the past three days, we recall, has been published by CACOL in about three major national dailies in March this year as part of our campaign to name and shame the corrupt in our society. We also did that then because we needed to put pressure on the judiciary to hasten the trial of those cases many of which have been in court for over three years.
Drawing from this simple explanation, it is obvious that the list which has now become a subject of controversy is not new. As such, we strongly believe that the outcry by some of those on the list and the clear move by the Attorney General of Nigeria and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke is baseless and a flagrant scheme to deceive the Nigerian masses that daily demand an end to corruption and the reign of the corrupt in our country.
Gentlemen, for the sake of argument if we allow these set of people to contest the next elections because they are yet to be convicted by the courts where their trials have been stalled for years, and eventually they are convicted, what happens to the mandate already given to them? Are we saying that apart from these less than 100 persons standing trial for corruption charges there are no clean and credible Nigerians to stand for elections out of a population of more than 150 million people? Our country needs to get it right. We can’t agitate and spend over N80billion to plan and organise a credible election without the participation of credible candidates. Such a venture will throw up more corrupt candidates and deepen the culture of impunity and corruption in our nation. For us in CACOL, WE SAY NO TO CORRUPT LEADERS!
The EFCC, we are made to understand through their statement has not prepared any advisory list other than the list of their cases in courts and which we have on our own advertised in newspapers in March, 2010. As such, we believe very strongly that the statement credited to the Minister of Justice, Adoke in a letter dated Sunday 24th October, a day before the publication of the list he was criticising smacks of a hidden agenda by the corrupt elements with the full backing of the AGF. As such, we demand that Mr. Adoke should be sacked like his predecessor, Michael Aondoaka since it is obvious that he is already working in concert with the corrupt elements to protect them and their interest just like Aondakaa did. We also condemn the actions of the AGF to stifle the nation’s anti-graft war. We read yesterday that within his six months in office, Mr. Adoke has withdrawn more than 15 cases filed in the court by the EFCC, just this morning, the Chairman of ICPC; Justice Emmanuel Ayoola has cried out that the govt through the AGF is frustrating the anti-graft war. We shall soon embark on street protests to press home our demands for credible candidates in the 2011 elections and for the sack of an AGF whose sole interest is to protect the corrupt from facing the consequences of their misdeeds.
Debo Adeniran
Executive Chairman, CACOL
08037194969
www.debo-adeniran.blogspot.com
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