A nominee for the membership of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) board, Prof. Mamman Lawan has said Nigeria did not need plenty anti-graft agencies to fight corruption.
He declared that strong institutions would go a long way in putting the nation back on track.
The Professor of law made this remark while answering questions from Senators at the ongoing screening, being undertaken by the Senate Committee on Anti-corruption and Financial Crimes.
According to Professor Lawan, “the EFCC is doing a good job, if strengthened, it will do more. The ICPC is also doing a good job, if strengthened, it will do better.”
When asked if he would support the merging of the two leading anti-corruption agencies, the nominee said “the two of them are doing the same thing and if merging them is an option, then it won’t be a bad idea”.
The nominee said he believed so much in strong institutions and that he would ensure that the EFCC was strengthened to reflect what the people would appreciate, when appointed as member of the commission.
He, however, canvassed that the EFCC should establish anti-corruption clubs in secondary schools, to help inculcate the culture of financial discipline and values of our forefathers in students; adding that “it is safer to prevent corruption than to fight it”.
Lawan was also of the opinion that a unit be established at the EFCC to be known and called ‘Human Rights and Rule of Law’, to handle such cases that relate to breach of the fundamental rights of suspects.
While answering questions on the way the EFCC prosecutes corruption cases, he said “not all cases can be prosecuted.”
According to him, “It’s only when you have a prima facie case and you are convinced that you can obtain conviction that you would go to court.”
“In a criminal matter, you need strong evidences to convince the court. Sometimes, out of 10 cases, you may find only 6 that could be prosecuted.
“Even if the accused person actually committed the offence, if you don’t have strong evidence, you would lose the case”, he said.
Lawan, however, criticised the idea of parading suspects for such a long time or be referring to them as accused without proper prosecution at the court of law, adding that “a suspect is presumed innocent until it is proven at the court of law that he is guilty”.
A total of 5 nominees are currently undergoing screening by the Senator Chukwuka Utazi led committee on Anti-corruption and Financial Crimes as members of the EFCC board.
