Human Rights Writers Association Of Nigeria (HURIWA) has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of acting a script targeting persons who have ambitions to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari and who are particularly from the South East of Nigeria.

The allegation was made in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko on Tuesday.

HURIWA stated that “This anti-Igbo sentiment is very well pronounced since the Federal Attorney General from Kebbi State railroaded his kinsman Abdulrasheed Bawa as substantive chairman after unseating erstwhile acting Chairman, Ibrahim Magu who till now is yet to be told officially the reasons for his indictments and unceremonious exit.”

The group noted that it is unfortunate that “the new leadership of the Economic and financial crime commission EFCC is lending itself to being used for political witch hunt.

“One of its senior detectives from Northern Nigeria was recently caught on telephone admitting that the minister of Justice Abubakar Malami has hijacked the EFCC and instead of either the National Assembly or the President ordering independent probe, the staff of EFCC who made the allegations was reportedly detained and the matter has been swept under the carpets of impunity.

“But the worst case of impunity is the deployment of EFCC by certain forces in the office of President Muhammadu Buhari to witch-hunt politicians of South East extraction working to get the South East to succeed Mr. President who will exit compulsorily after 8 years constitutional tenure finality”, HURIWA further alleged. 

“As an organization, we can confirm that a prominent person of the federal government at the moment revealed to us that the EFCC is the political tool at the behest of Mr. President and the federal attorney general.

“This allegation should be investigated by independent investigators. Apart from working as a political attack dog of the president, the EFCC has currently unexplained ethical /credibility deficit.

“We need the EFCC to come clean on these two major plank of a very strong suspicious that the EFCC is an executive attack dog and as an agency being remote controlled by the Minister of Justice.

“Unfortunately it is now being used against the 2023 political Interest of the Igbo or the South East (to put it in its correct political context)  through a rash of clearly biased arrests or invitations  like that of Senator Orji uzor Kalu, Osita Okechukwu, the filing of charges against Rochas Okorocha on the day he declared that he wants to succeed Mr. President. 

“Osita Okechukwu has been in office for five years plus and EFCC neither invited him or arrested him for any allegation of  fraud in office but EFCC suddenly woke up few days ago to arrest him when he is the most vocal voice canvassing for Igbo presidency 2023 and had even asked Tinubu the God Father of Lai Muhammed the minister of information to step down for an Igbo candidate.

“He also asked the President to free Nnamdi Kanu who is hated viciously by Minister of Justice.

“That seems to be his offence and he has been kept in detention for over three days while most northern politicians who are invited by EFCC spend just 30minutes but anybody from South East especially those connected to 2023 Igbo presidency campaign may even spend eternity inside EFCC cell.

“The Wife of the Kano state governor dragged to Efcc for alleged fraud spent less than 30 minutes and was seen flying back to Kano accompanied by her husband the governor who himself was accused of multimillion dollars bribery that he allegedly collected from contractors but because he is Northern Fulani Moslem he is above the law and was not even invited (Section 308(1) of the Constitution does not stop invitation for questioning and not arrest since he enjoys immunity) or questioned by EFCC. 

“The case of Senator Orji Uzor Kalu is particularly heart-rending and is clearly a political witch hunt in which the EFCC is spending humongous amount of public fund, to maliciously continue to prosecute Orji Uzor Kalu even when the supreme court of Nigeria has quashed his 6 months illegal detention in Kuje prison where he was sent to that prison by northern Moslem Judge of a Federal High Court who although was promoted to appeal court bench but he stayed on as a federal high court judge just to execute a northern agenda of nullifying  Orji Uzor Kalu chances of running for presidency in 2023.

“This is preposterous, irrational, primitive and tendentious. The EFCC must be called to order immediately”, the statement added.

Source: StreetReporters.ng