Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, has said the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), will continue to lose cases
because the anti-graft agency arrests people “without proper and thorough
investigation”.
In a statement released by his Special Assistant on Public
Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Fayose went on to condemn the continued
detention of former Governors of Benue and Niger States, Gabriel Suswam and
Babangida Aliyu.
He said their detention showed the disrespect for the law by
the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
“It is even more worrisome that former Governor Suswam has
been in detention since February 26 this year and Austin Okai, who was arrested
in Abuja last Sunday, was arraigned in Lokoja Magistrate Court on Thursday,
granted bail and rearrested at the court premises by the same police that
charged him to court.
“Arresting people without proper and thorough investigation
is the reason EFCC continues lose its cases. How can you arrest someone, put
him in detention and start looking for evidence to prosecute him?
“On Wednesday, the Department of State Services came up with
the most ridiculous reason for keeping Suswam in detention since February. The
service said it would not release the former governor because he has failed to
cooperate with investigators. The question is; what cooperation does the DSS
need from someone that will require him being kept in detention for close to
two months without charging him to court?
“One may also ask: is the DSS also keeping the head of
Nigeria’s Islamic Movement, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, who has been in detention since
late 2015 despite that the court ruled that he should be released?
“Are we back to the era of Decree 2 of 1984 when the
National Security Organisation had powers to arrest and detain Nigerians
indefinitely?
“Also, for what lawful reason would the Police charge Austin
Okai to court and rearrest him at the court premises after he was granted bail?
Isn’t the brutish use of power by these APC elements getting too much?”
Fayose also insisted that the EFCC had no right to detain
any Nigerian without trial.
“Most importantly, it is assumed that before anyone can be
arrested for alleged corruption, the EFCC ought to have done its job by
gathering necessary facts.
“This practice of EFCC arresting Nigerians, detaining them
indefinitely so that they can give indicting evidences against themselves is
alien to crime investigation in civilised world.
“Therefore, if EFCC has any evidence of corruption against
Dr Babangida Aliyu, the commission should simply charge him to court and use
the evidence(s) to prosecute him.
“In the absence of this, he should be released forthwith;
else one will also believe the insinuation that the EFCC is holding him
(Babangida) as part of the APC-led Federal Government clampdown on anyone that
is perceived as having presidential ambition in 2019.”
By Ifreke Inyang
