Barely 24 hours after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC was striped off the power of prosecution on the orders of the presidency, The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Michael Aondoakaar after an emergency meeting with President Umaru Musa Yar”Adua, the EFCC, the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, the Secretary to the Government, Babagana Kingibe and other senior officials of the Presidency announced a volte face.
The EFCC has now been given back the power of prosecution without recourse to the office of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice.
The latest development is seen as a big blow to indicted Governors who got a reprieve to the earlier announcement seen by pundits as move to protect them from facing the law over allegations of embezzlement while in office
However, what the Attorney General was not telling the media is that the sudden change came as a result of the interventions from Chief of Staff and State House Counsel who felt the Attorney General's memo to Umar Yar’adua was misleading as did not take into account a subsisting Supreme Court ruling on the issue which was highlighted by the West Africa Bar Association President, Femi Falana in his reaction to the announcement yesterday.
advertisement
|
|---|
After meeting with the President, Chief of Staff invited the Attorney General over to tell him his position could not stand, a further meeting was held which included EFCC Chairman, Nuhu Ribadu, Justice Ayoade of ICPC and Wale Babalakin, the honorary Adviser on Legal Matters and the SGF, Baba Gana Kingibe, the meeting concluded that the AG position would compromise the fight against corruption and would injure the Yar’adua administration terribly as exemplified by public outcry over the decision.
Nuhu Ribadu specifically stated that the case referred to AG office, that of Makanjuola, the Permanent Secretary to the ministry of Defense and Obasanjo cousin who embezzled huge amount of money in 2000 did not go anywhere till date.
At the end, a compromise was arrived at that the Attorney General should brief the press to 'clarify' his position as a way of saving the face of the Federal Government since it was his cross anyway.
Meanwhile, Mr. Femi Falana has asked the Attorney General and Minister of Justice to resign his position immediately for gross incompetence.