EFCC Chairman, Farida Waziri
Barely 24 hours after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission raised the alarm on plans by unknown people to attack them, an armed gang on Friday killed two of its operatives.
The victims were part of a team of five operatives returning from Owerri to Enugu where they had attended a court proceeding in a case that involved, Mr. Albert Chikwe, husband of a former Minister of Aviation, Dr. Kema Chikwe.
Chikwe is being tried for an alleged N40m fraud.
Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Mr. Femi Babafemi, told our correspondent that the first victim, Mr. Eze Adaga, died on the spot, while the second, whose identity could not be ascertained, died in a yet to be disclosed hospital from gun shot wounds.
”While the trial was one, our men got signals that there were strange movements at the court. And the men were attacked after leaving the court,” Babafemi said.
He declined to disclose the name of the hospital the victims were taken to for safety reasons.
in another report :
Farida Waziri, chair of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), is in a jittery state these days, several sources in the agency, some of them close to her, have revealed to Saharareporters. Mrs. Waziri, who is embroiled in a scandal that surfaced following a falling out between her and her estranged former front, was dealt another blow when police authorities transferred several police officers out of the agency without her prior knowledge. “She was not briefed about the reassignments before they were effected,” a police source told our reporter.
EFCC sources said Waziri was particularly shaken because she had been using two of the transferred officers as fronts in her extortion schemes. The duo, Mohammed Baba Kura and Umar Sandar, were earlier identified by Saharareporters as the kingpins of Waziri’s extortion team at the EFCC.
Our sources revealed that the former Inspector General of Police, Mike Okiro, first planned the transfer of the two rogue officers but Waziri thwarted the move by telling the press that the two officers were being removed to forestall their investigation of the Haliburton scandal. “She basically claimed that the two officers were the best hands engaged in the Halliburton investigations.”
Our sources disclosed that Femi Adesina, a columnist with the Sun, was one of the journalists Mrs. Waziri enlisted to fend off the redeployment of her two extortion specialists. Shortly after we exposed the role of the two so-called investigators, Mr. Adesina on April 10, 2008, wrote a column to which he gave the title “Halliburton: Who’s afraid of EFCC?”. The columnist wrote as follows: “There is a disquieting signal coming from police authorities concerning the celebrated Halliburton bribery scandal. As investigators of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) seem set for the final kill, they suddenly get signals redeploying them. Quite curious.” He continued: “According to reports, the crack detectives, Umar Sanda and Baba Kura, have been redeployed to both Zamfara and Delta states, respectively, by the office of the Inspector-General of Police, Mike Okiro,” adding that “When the EFCC boss, Mrs. Farida Waziri protested, the I.G. was said to have told her that it was a normal deployment, since the men were police officers, who had been with the EFCC since Nuhu Ribadu days.” Then Adesina, who was reportedly briefed by Mrs. Waziri, asked, “Who is afraid of EFCC and the Halliburton probe? Why must the two investigators be yanked off at this particular time, when they are about to achieve a breakthrough?”
But several sources within and outside the agency disclosed that there was never a Halliburton investigation being conducted by Waziri's EFCC. “Instead, Madam did everything possible to shield the officers because one of them, Baba Kura, threatened to expose her underhand dealings,” a source told us.
But last weekend, Mrs. Waziri – whose corrupt deals at the agency have come under scrutiny – promised to move severely against Baba Kura. She told acting President Goodluck Jonathan’s aides that she was going to detain Mr. Kura. Waziri’s promise to clamp Kura in detention, our source revealed, came after Jonathan's office showed Waziri a petition accusing Baba Kura of collecting a $2 million bribe from a businessman and another N120 million from a bank official undergoing trial.
Sources told Saharareporters that Waziri misled Jonathan’s office about Kura’s detention. When Saharareporters contacted EFCC spokesperson Femi Babafemi, he denied any knowledge of Baba Kura's arrest. He also said he could not confirm that the police redeployed the two officers from the EFCC. He said the procedures for redeployment had not been met.
Jonathan remains under intense pressure, from Nigerian anti-corruption groups as well as some foreign nations, to remove Waziri from the EFCC. Waziri’s critics cite her incompetence and well-documented corrupt acts. Last week, we reported that Waziri’s arrest and prosecution of Victor Uwajeh, a man he contracted to do special assignments for her, was a case of business deals gone badly.
The EFCC has admitted that Uwajeh was given cover letters to conduct international investigations on its behalf, even though Uwajeh has no credentials or experience as a big time investigator. “Besides, the international investigation of economic criminals is done between cooperating international agencies like the FBI, the London Metropolitan Police and national anti-crime agencies.
However, since Mrs. Waziri took over the EFCC and revealed her chumminess with corrupt serving and former government officials, most of the international agencies that had been in partnership with the agency basically severed their cooperation and left. “Thanks to Mrs. Waziri’s questionable leadership, Nigeria is in danger of being perceived once again as a pariah state that coddles corrupt people,” said an official of the EU in Abuja.
The Uwajeh revelations have led Mrs. Waziri to embark on a spree of media propaganda. “She’s voted a huge sum to bribe top editors in Lagos and Abuja to shore up her image,” said a source within the agency.
Early last week, during her visit to Lagos, angry EFCC officials confronted Mrs. Waziri. The officials openly confronted her about her incompetence and accused her of lying about staff welfare. The Lagos staff fumed as a rattled Mrs. Waziri rambled that she was a victim of a gang up. The officials reminded her during a Q&A that their salaries had in fact decreased since she came to the agency.
Our investigations revealed that, when she first arrived at the agency, Mrs. Waziri ordered an increase in staff allowances “in order to appease the staff and gain acceptability,” said a source. However, a few months into her tenure, the increases were taken off. During her meeting with the Lagos staff, she promised to look into their complaints. As soon as she left that meeting, she zoomed off to meet with some Lagos editors to prepare them for a press conference to be addressed by Senator Joseph Kennedy Waku, one of her sidekicks. Mr. Waku accused Femi Falana and Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka of planning to remove Mrs. Waziri from office.
Sources told Saharareporters disclosed that Waku, who is from Mrs. Waziri's ethnic area, depends on the EFCC chairperson’s handouts for financial sustenance. “Senator Waku is well known as one of the collectors of bribes from those facing investigation or prosecution by the EFCC,” said a source in the EFCC.
EFCC sources said Waziri was particularly shaken because she had been using two of the transferred officers as fronts in her extortion schemes. The duo, Mohammed Baba Kura and Umar Sandar, were earlier identified by Saharareporters as the kingpins of Waziri’s extortion team at the EFCC.
Our sources revealed that the former Inspector General of Police, Mike Okiro, first planned the transfer of the two rogue officers but Waziri thwarted the move by telling the press that the two officers were being removed to forestall their investigation of the Haliburton scandal. “She basically claimed that the two officers were the best hands engaged in the Halliburton investigations.”
Our sources disclosed that Femi Adesina, a columnist with the Sun, was one of the journalists Mrs. Waziri enlisted to fend off the redeployment of her two extortion specialists. Shortly after we exposed the role of the two so-called investigators, Mr. Adesina on April 10, 2008, wrote a column to which he gave the title “Halliburton: Who’s afraid of EFCC?”. The columnist wrote as follows: “There is a disquieting signal coming from police authorities concerning the celebrated Halliburton bribery scandal. As investigators of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) seem set for the final kill, they suddenly get signals redeploying them. Quite curious.” He continued: “According to reports, the crack detectives, Umar Sanda and Baba Kura, have been redeployed to both Zamfara and Delta states, respectively, by the office of the Inspector-General of Police, Mike Okiro,” adding that “When the EFCC boss, Mrs. Farida Waziri protested, the I.G. was said to have told her that it was a normal deployment, since the men were police officers, who had been with the EFCC since Nuhu Ribadu days.” Then Adesina, who was reportedly briefed by Mrs. Waziri, asked, “Who is afraid of EFCC and the Halliburton probe? Why must the two investigators be yanked off at this particular time, when they are about to achieve a breakthrough?”
But several sources within and outside the agency disclosed that there was never a Halliburton investigation being conducted by Waziri's EFCC. “Instead, Madam did everything possible to shield the officers because one of them, Baba Kura, threatened to expose her underhand dealings,” a source told us.
Mrs. Farida Waziri, Victor Uwajei and his wife
Sources told Saharareporters that Waziri misled Jonathan’s office about Kura’s detention. When Saharareporters contacted EFCC spokesperson Femi Babafemi, he denied any knowledge of Baba Kura's arrest. He also said he could not confirm that the police redeployed the two officers from the EFCC. He said the procedures for redeployment had not been met.
Jonathan remains under intense pressure, from Nigerian anti-corruption groups as well as some foreign nations, to remove Waziri from the EFCC. Waziri’s critics cite her incompetence and well-documented corrupt acts. Last week, we reported that Waziri’s arrest and prosecution of Victor Uwajeh, a man he contracted to do special assignments for her, was a case of business deals gone badly.
The EFCC has admitted that Uwajeh was given cover letters to conduct international investigations on its behalf, even though Uwajeh has no credentials or experience as a big time investigator. “Besides, the international investigation of economic criminals is done between cooperating international agencies like the FBI, the London Metropolitan Police and national anti-crime agencies.
However, since Mrs. Waziri took over the EFCC and revealed her chumminess with corrupt serving and former government officials, most of the international agencies that had been in partnership with the agency basically severed their cooperation and left. “Thanks to Mrs. Waziri’s questionable leadership, Nigeria is in danger of being perceived once again as a pariah state that coddles corrupt people,” said an official of the EU in Abuja.
The Uwajeh revelations have led Mrs. Waziri to embark on a spree of media propaganda. “She’s voted a huge sum to bribe top editors in Lagos and Abuja to shore up her image,” said a source within the agency.
Early last week, during her visit to Lagos, angry EFCC officials confronted Mrs. Waziri. The officials openly confronted her about her incompetence and accused her of lying about staff welfare. The Lagos staff fumed as a rattled Mrs. Waziri rambled that she was a victim of a gang up. The officials reminded her during a Q&A that their salaries had in fact decreased since she came to the agency.
Our investigations revealed that, when she first arrived at the agency, Mrs. Waziri ordered an increase in staff allowances “in order to appease the staff and gain acceptability,” said a source. However, a few months into her tenure, the increases were taken off. During her meeting with the Lagos staff, she promised to look into their complaints. As soon as she left that meeting, she zoomed off to meet with some Lagos editors to prepare them for a press conference to be addressed by Senator Joseph Kennedy Waku, one of her sidekicks. Mr. Waku accused Femi Falana and Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka of planning to remove Mrs. Waziri from office.
Sources told Saharareporters disclosed that Waku, who is from Mrs. Waziri's ethnic area, depends on the EFCC chairperson’s handouts for financial sustenance. “Senator Waku is well known as one of the collectors of bribes from those facing investigation or prosecution by the EFCC,” said a source in the EFCC.
