Resign Before You Completely Wreck EFCC, Timi Frank Tells Chairman, Olukoyede

*Says commission now political enforcer, not anti-graft agency

Political activist and former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, on Wednesday, launched a scathing attack on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), accusing the anti-graft agency of abandoning its constitutional mandate and operating as a political tool of the ruling party.

In a strongly worded statement, Frank called on the Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, to resign in order to save the agency. 

According to him, the EFCC, under the watch of Olukoyede, had “conducted itself in a manner inconsistent with the laws of the land,” adding that the Commission had brought “shame and disrepute” upon itself through what he described as selective prosecution and political bargaining.

“We have unfortunately reached a point in our country where it has become difficult to distinguish between a Commission statutorily saddled with the responsibility of fighting economic and financial crimes and one that appears to operate as an arm of the ruling party,” Frank said.

According to him, the EFCC has “recklessly abandoned its core mandate of combating corruption” and instead assumed “the role of negotiating the calculated movement of political actors from opposition parties to the ruling party.”

Frank cited several high-profile cases to support his claims, beginning with former Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa.

“Senator Ifeanyi Okowa was vigorously pursued while he was in the opposition over allegations of massive corruption,” he said. “Shortly after meeting with the EFCC, he defected to the ruling APC. Since then, the matter appears to have gone silent. Today, he has even been rewarded with a ‘Renewed Hope Ambassador’ position.”

He also listed former governors Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Samuel Ortom (Benue) and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), who he said were reportedly invited by the Commission.

“They had ‘discussions’,” Frank said. “Thereafter, none of these individuals appears to have returned to the Commission, and no meaningful updates have been provided to Nigerians.”

Frank described the handling of the case involving former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, as “particularly troubling.”

“The EFCC Chairman once publicly threatened to resign if he was not given a free hand to prosecute Yahaya Bello,” he recalled. “Yet, after a visit to the Commission and another round of ‘discussions,’ the case no longer enjoys the same urgency or prosecution vigour.”

He accused the Commission of acting as Bello’s defender, noting that the EFCC had publicly emphasised that the former governor was “innocent until proven guilty” and therefore eligible to contest elections.

“One must ask: was the Chairman of the EFCC unaware of this constitutional principle at the time he was publicly singing and dancing over the alleged crimes attributed to the same individual?” Frank queried.

He further challenged the Commission to extend the same public defence to other suspects.

“The Commission should also do well to act as the spokesperson for other suspects, such as former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, the Commissioner of Finance, Bauchi State, Yakubu Adamu, and a host of others,” he said.

Frank raised what he called “fundamental questions” about the EFCC’s operations.

“Why were Godwin Emefiele and Abubakar Malami not accorded the same treatment? Is it because they are yet to decamp to the ruling party? Why has the EFCC embraced selective prosecution?” he asked.

He warned that Nigerians were increasingly questioning the relevance of the Commission.

“At this point, Nigerians are compelled to ask whether the Commission should be scrapped altogether to prevent its Chairman from continuing to ridicule an institution meant to serve as a pillar of accountability,” he said.

Frank also called on the international community to intervene.

“We call on the international community to beam its searchlight on the EFCC and sanction anyone found culpable,” he said, alleging that “criminality within the Commission has indirectly fuelled insecurity in our land.”

According to him, “funds meant to fight insecurity and other critical challenges have reportedly been misappropriated, while the EFCC allegedly plays the role of negotiator and mediator between looters and the ruling party—at the expense of Nigerian citizens.”

 Frank who currently serves as the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Ambassador to East Africa and the Middle East as well as Senior Advisor to the Global Friendship City Association (GFCA), USA, alleged that looters were being rewarded with appointments.

“Looters of public resources are consistently rewarded with juicy appointments, in apparent collusion with a Commission that now serves as a mediator rather than a prosecutor,” Frank said, adding that “confiscated properties by looters of our common resources have been quietly returned to them because they have decided to sing, ‘On your mandate we shall stand.’”

Frank described the EFCC as “a toothless dog that can bark but cannot bite,” blaming what he called the “distorted leadership of Pastor Olukoyede.”

“If the EFCC believes otherwise, it should come clean by telling Nigerians what truly happened to the cases and petitions mentioned above,” he said.

He specifically challenged the EFCC chairman to publish reports allegedly referenced by former AGF Malami. “Mr Chairman, you must come clean on these issues and many others. In the interest of transparency, kindly publish the entire report,” he demanded.

Warning that history would judge the current leadership harshly, Frank said: “Nigeria has a short memory, but history is relentless. Please remember how those who occupied this office before you ended - from Ibrahim Magu to Abdulrasheed Bawa.”

Invoking biblical imagery, he said: “I owe you a duty to speak the truth in line with Christian values, as exemplified by Queen Esther in the Bible, who used her position to advocate for justice to the vulnerable and the entire nation.”

Frank concluded by calling for the resignation of the EFCC chairman.

“The fight against corruption has been reduced to a show of shame before Nigerians and the international community,” he said. “I therefore call for your resignation before you permanently run the Commission aground. Otherwise, you may go down in history as the worst chairman of the EFCC.”