Prof Itse Sagay (SAN), the Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, says the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), might interfere in the duties of the newly elected Chairman of the Economic Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, thereby preventing him from succeeding.
The Prof said this while speaking with newsmen during an interview while reacting to the new EFCC boss confirmation.
According to Sagay, Malami is a politician, and he shouldn’t be allowed to meddle in the affairs of the anti-graft agency as this could affect the anti-corruption crusade of the Federal Government.
He further states that Malami had become too powerful; hence must be watched carefully and closely.
Commenting on the independence of the commission, Sagay said, “This issue is a very big question because I noticed that they both come from the same state of Kebbi, and they may even be related. For me, that is not a very healthy thing because the Chairman of the EFCC and the EFCC are supposed to be independent.
“They are not politicians; they are trained, security officers. The attorney-general is a politician who has all the weaknesses and loads of a politician. He has people he is obliged to. He has people who are close to him. Some of them may be criminals who might have committed crimes. In fact, some of them may deliberately do things because they think they know the attorney-general.
“So, in such a situation, if Bawa is related to the attorney-general, then there will be a problem because he will not be able to do his job freely because the attorney-general will certainly interfere. He has already indicated his tendency to interfere in both the EFCC and the ICPC with the regulations he purported to make months ago. So, I am not comfortable at all that the possibility that they might be related.”
Sagay further maintained that Malami had never supported the independencies of anti-graft agencies.
The PAAC chairman also said he had made his position known several times, but unfortunately, Malami’s powers keep rising against his.
“Malami has never been inclined to allow the anti-corruption agencies to operate freely. He is always sitting on their neck one way or the other. I have complained about that several times and nothing has happened. In fact, he has become more powerful. So, I will not be comfortable if they are related. I don’t want any outside influence on the EFCC or the ICPC.”
