It is a fact that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was established by an Act of government. Most of its founding personnel were drafted from the Nigeria Police Force. I clearly remember the birth of the commission and every step in its evolution to date. Each of its leaders has been drawn from serving police officers, except Mrs. Farida Waziri, who was appointed from retirement. The EFCC is one institution that, although it was created out of the Nigeria Police, has carved its own image and has gradually been erasing known traits of the Nigeria Police.
The police force has failed in its constitutional role as the prime investigator and harbinger of justice for the people. In fact, many often see the police, as an agency in Nigeria, as the custodians of injustice and corruption. Members of the public no longer have confidence in the service because of endemic corrupt activities, injustice and extortionist behaviour of some officers. Only recently, a police officer attached to one of the investigation departments in Abuja demanded and collected a huge amount as extortion from an Irish contractor.
The essential duties of the police force as the promoter of justice and fair play were eroded further when, because of politics and carelessness, corrupt youths with criminal records gained entrance during recruitment. That was how the police became identified with corruption and criminality. When former President Olusegun Obasanjo castigated the police organisation for recruiting rogues and criminals into the institution, he knew that justice would be tampered with and criminality would become the order of the day in the bastardised system that was being allowed to develop around the police institution. Not surprisingly, a few months after Obasanjo’s pronouncement, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, a no-nonsense radical police officer and lawyer, was appointed to kick-start a new vision that would reshape the face of investigation in Nigeria. That was the beginning of an institution that corrupt personalities, both in the public and private sectors, would hear its name and shiver and abstain from criminal acts.
Although the initial personnel for the EFCC were from the police and other security agencies as well as the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, these personnel of the new anti-corruption agency were some of the very best brains and dedicated officers in the area of investigator. However, with each new leader in the EFCC, a few bad eggs found their way into the institution. Recently, one of the founding staff that knew the vision and tenets that built the agency was appointed as the chairman in an acting capacity.
In a chat with this writer, two days after his appointment, the new EFCC head said he was determined to bring back the glory of the institution. His target was to bring back an institution that would be fearless and fair to every complainant and suspect. He added that the EFCC he wanted to build was not going to act like the police, where he was coming from.
Mr. Ibrahim Magu has so far been able to paddle the boat of the EFCC in the most fascinating and professional manner. He appears to be a humble but fearless person who abhors corruption in all its ramifications. Within a short time, with the number of retraining programmes and internal restructuring, Magu has placed the institution on the international radar of professionalism once again. It was, therefore, very surprising to hear of the death of one suspect, an alleged fraudster, Mr. Desmond Nunugwo, in an EFCC cell. The EFCC’s cells, to the best of my knowledge, are a hundred times better than any of the police cells scattered all over the country. EFCC cells cannot also be compared with those of the Department of State Security (DSS) cells in terms of tidiness. I have severally been conducted round EFCC, police and DSS cells, so I know that EFCC cells are far better.
I have also been detained in both police and DSS cells and so I can pass judgment. I can also compare them with the police detention cells I have seen in such foreign places as London, Haiti and Atlanta-Georgia in the USA. The EFCC receives thumbs up for having decent cells and also avoiding manhandling and torturing of suspects. This is a positive record for Nigeria with its dented image in terms of deaths in police cells all over the country. Death in a detention cell is not the same thing as death in a prison, because the person in a cell is a suspect awaiting prosecution and is expected to be well cared for.
A distant relation was once arrested at the Enugu office of the EFCC, but was transferred to the Abuja headquarters where he was detained for three days before he was granted bail. Despite being a suspect in detention, he was full of praise for the institution, reporting to me that the cell where he was kept was swept twice every day and the hygiene was commendable. EFCC to the best of my knowledge abhors torture of suspects in a bid to extract information, which was common with the anti-robbery squad of the police before now. The EFCC follows the international standard, whereby thorough investigation is carried out and the evidence obtained is used to confront a suspect, leading to prosecution, if enough ground is established for prosecution. If it were not so, the likes of Mr. Olisa Metuh and Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode, who were detained at the EFCC, would have cried out immediately they were released.
Since the establishment of the EFCC, this is the first time, to my knowledge, that a suspect has died in detention. This is why Magu has not only called for an investigation, but has also allowed both the Office of the Attorney-General, the police and a private medical team to also investigate the matter. So what happened to Mr. Desmond Nunugwo? The case borders on allegations of obtaining money by false pretence reported by one Ole Nnena Kalu of Block SB 6, Flat 16, NNPC Staff Quarters, Area 11, Garki, Abuja, against Nunugwo (now Deceased).
The Complainant alleged that sometime in April 2016, the deceased invited her to a friend’s birthday dinner and they had a discussion where the complainant told the deceased of her intention to import stockfish from Norway, Iceland and China. Sequel to this discussion, the deceased told the complainant that he had business partners in Dubai in the persons of one Igwe and a Saudi princess. He also stated that he was a signatory to their Diamond bank Account here in Nigeria. He convinced her that he was part of this big and well-respected company that was currently mopping up funds to buy NICON Insurance Limited. Consequently, the complainant transferred the sum of N95,400,000.00  into the Diamond Bank account belonging to Mainagge General Merchants with account number 0065689292, which was forwarded via a text message to her by the deceased.
The complainant further alleged that, after the transfer of the said sum to the deceased, she waited for a response, which was not forthcoming, and, instead, the deceased became evasive.

Related News