Former head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, has been cleared of all charges labeled against him by the Nigerian authorities. Reports claim that Mr. Nuhu Ribadu may be appointed a special adviser on fighting corruption to acting President Goodluck Jonathan.
Former head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, has been cleared of all charges labeled against him by the Nigerian authorities. Reports claim that Mr. Nuhu Ribadu may be appointed a special adviser on fighting corruption to acting President Goodluck Jonathan.
The former anti-corruption chief brought more than 1,000 cases to court, and secured 270 convictions as head of the EFCC. Critics accused him of pursuing cases only against enemies of Mr. Obasanjo and leaving his friends untouched, and he was subsequently accused of not declaring his assets while in office, but feels – that he was delighted justice had been done.
“I’m happy, I’m pleased. I’m an innocent person who has been persecuted for such a long period of time,” Mr. Ribadu is quoted by the BBC- from the United States – where he has been living in self-imposed exile.
Before Mr. Ribadu’s appointment no company in Nigeria had ever been charged with bribery. His lawyer, Femi Falana, told reporters that his client now had many options.
“Wherever Ribadu is, you can be sure he is going to contribute his quota towards fighting corruption,” he said.
“These guys were desperate to destroy everything that was done on the ground, and they started with me. They wanted to kill me and I left the country,” Mr. Ribadu was quoted.
Mr. Ribadu was sacked shortly after Mr Yar’Adua won elections in 2007, and was sent on a year’s training course, but following his liberation, some factions of the Nigerian public have suggested that he may be appointed a special adviser on fighting corruption to acting President Goodluck Jonathan.
Mr. Jonathan was named acting president in February following the illness of President Umaru Yar’Adua, and Mr. Ribadu believes it is the changes at the top that had probably helped his case.
“Luckily we have a new government that is refusing to go in the direction of the former leadership – or the leadership that is not in office now. They decided to do what is right, and therefore just withdrew the charges against me,” Mr. Ribadu added.
Supporters of Mr. Ribadu describe him as a relentless tracker of the thieves in high places who have kept most residents of this oil-rich country stalled in poverty. While he was chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr Ribadu sent his own boss – the inspector general of police – to prison.
Mr. Ribadu fled the country because, he says, two attempts were made on his life following his unyielding stands on corruption.
“They’ll try everything. They will attempt to bribe you. If it fails, they will blackmail you and try to make a mess of your name.One of them gave me $15 million in cash; raw cash- American dollars,” Mr. Ribadu was quoted by reporters in 2009.
