The Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, PACAC, has accused the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), of stopping high-profile criminal cases against some politicians in the country.
In a statement on Wednesday signed by its Chairman, Professor Itse Sagay, the committee also condemned the proposed bill for the amendment of the establishment Act of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
According to the committee, the planned action would eliminate EFCC’s freedom and autonomy and replace it with an agency that will be controlled by the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General. The panel described the move as a dangerous attempt to demolish the anti-corruption infrastructure of Nigeria and return it to the situation it was in during the dark days before 2015.
The statement noted that the proposed amendment of the EFCC Establishment Act, 2004, was being sponsored by those who were “too ashamed to put their names to the draft bill being circulated.”
The statement read in part, “With all the above-established facts, the gravity of the proposed change becomes overwhelming.
“When in addition to all this, we recall the well-known proclivity of the attorney-general for entering nolle procequi in favour of major political and governmental figures, this move to effectively scrap the EFCC becomes more alarming.
“We therefore call on the National Assembly and all Nigerians to vigorously reject this attempt to perpetrate fraud on the nation by effectively scuttling the EFCC and shutting down Nigeria’s anti-corruption war.”
Offensive highlights of the proposed bill, according to Sagay, include, “the repeal of the current EFCC Establishment Act, which has been a spectacular success and has brought Nigeria into limelight as a major force against corruption.”
