First,
the economic and financial crimes commission was created in December, 2002
through an Act of the national Assembly. Section 1(1) of the ECONOMIC and
FINANCIAL CRIMES COMMISSION (Establishment) Act 2004 provides
that there shall be a body to be known ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CRIMES
COMMISSION.
The commission began operation in
April 2003 when its board was inaugurated.
Section 14 of the EFCC Act 2004 defines economic and financial crimes to mean
the non-violent criminal
and illicit activity committed with the defective of
earning wealth illegally either individually or in a group or in an organized
manner thereby violating existing legislation governing economic activities and
its administration and includes any form of fraud such as involvement in
narcotic drug trafficking, money laundering, embezzlement, bribery, looting and
any form of corrupt malpractices, illegal arms deal, smuggling human
trafficking and child labor,.The EFCC can also be said to be a Nigerian law enforcement agency that investigates financial crimes such as advance fee fraud and money laundering
OBSERVATION
From the above discussions, it is evidently
clear that both EFCC and ICPC are just another way duplication of offices and
duties in Nigeria is been carried out. Both agencies perform similar functions
which one agency can comfortably perform. Also that the ICPC as an agency is
just existing for existing sake with its staffs having little or nothing to
contribute in fighting corruption in Nigeria. Only the EFCC is making effort in
prosecuting corrupt officials. But it is very sad that unconcluded cases still
pending in different courts today are greater than the decided ones.
RECOMMENDATIONS
In my recommendation, I humbly wish to submit that
serious reforms needs to be carried out in Nigerian ant-corruption agencies for
their have not leaved up on its statutory expectations.
I
humbly wish to recommend the followings;
A special anti-corruption court needs to be
established to quicken or hasten up the disperse of cases relating to corrupt
practices. The slow pace at which suits
dealing on corruption are taken in regular courts is alarming for instance,
from the first these years of the existence of the independent corrupt practices
commission out of the 942 petitions it received, only 400 of them were under
investigation, and only 60 are at still at the various stages of prosecution
these investigations and suits consumes resources which at last corrupt
official are still acquitted. So it is submitted that if the legislature can as
a matter of urgency establish special courts and prescribed a short limit of
periods for any litigation on corruption matters, Nigeria public and private
offices will be less of corrupt officials.
There is the need for the 2 commissions to be
merged into one strong and overwhelming anti-corruption agency. Money and
resources are spent every month in paying salaries to workers of those
commissions with little success to show for it. With the need to reduce the
cost of governance and duplication of office, the EFCC and ICPC should be merged
together. The Attorney general and minister of justice, Mohammed Adoke, when he
appeared before the senate for screening as a ministerial nominee lent his voice
to the effect that the EFCC and the ICPC should be merged.
Also, duplication of efforts and responsibilities
among and between ministries, department parasitical and government agencies
has been one of the major outlets through which national resources are being
rested the fact remains that the aims and objective of both the EFCC and the
ICPC are interwoven and coterminous. It therefore, becomes expedient,
imperative and absolutely necessary to merge the two in order to save cost and
conserved meager resources for government to meet other needs.
I Wish to submit also, that these commissions
should as a matter of urgency be made to be totally autonomous and free from
the Executive control and interference. As is evidently in Nigeria, where the
president appoints the chairmen of these agencies thereby making them political
appointees who are at the beck and call of the president. Political interests
in the operations of these anti-graft agencies have lead to slow the pace at
which justice is been meted out to corrupt officers it is clear in Nigeria that
EFCC and ICPC usually goes after corrupt officials who are no longer in good
terms with the president and some political godfathers in the country the loyal
ones are not even arrested in the first, place even if arrested cannot be
properly prosecuted.
So,
if these agencies are given the free hand to prosecute any official irrespective
of tribe or position he occupies, the Nigeria system will be clean of corrupt
officials.
Another reason why recommend that the Economic
and financial crimes commission and the independent corrupt practice commission
should be merged is that while the EFCC is dynamic and functional, the ICPC appears
to be pedestrian in nature with no defined sense of direction. We hear and know
suits. Fluted in courts by the EFCC on regular basis against corrupt government
official and private corrupt officials, The ICPC on the other hand seems to be
the steeping dog that has refused to ”wake up”.
Also, the ICPC should be merged with
the EFCC because ICPC has outlived Its usefulness since it has not been to
convict anybody some section of its Act have said no cont act should be awarded
without the enabling appropriation and cash backing. Yet the nation is awash
with stories of heavy liabilities at state and local government levels.
CONCLUSION
Many
giant strides have been taken to restore the image of Nigeria, to remove the
clog in the wheel of development of Nigeria and to sanities the public and
civil services, the public and private institution in Nigeria to no avail. But
with the establishment of EFCC and ICPC with such mandates, there is light of
hope that Nigeria is on the toe of victory over corruption, economic and
financial crimes and other related offences shall be things of the past.