group storms the NASS and demands the new EFCC chair be removed
On Tuesday, members of the Center for Democracy and Human Rights stormed the National Assembly building in Abuja, demanding that the Senate remove Ola Olukoyede, the recently appointed chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, on the grounds that he is unqualified.
Adebayo Ogorry, the group’s national secretary, requested that Olukoyede be fired from his position by Senate President Godswill Akpabio and pointed out that President Bola Tinubu had purportedly broken the rules when selecting the new EFCC chairman.
According to The PUNCH, President Tinubu last Thursday gave Olukoyede the go-ahead to lead the EFCC for a first term that is extendable for a further four years, subject to Senate approval.
This occurs almost four months after he suspended Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa, the former head of the anti-graft agency.
Tuesday, during the demonstration in front of the National Assembly in Abuja, Ogorry stated, “We write to draw the attention of the Senate to the gross violation of the extant laws, which is the Establishment Act 2004 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, by President Bola Tinubu of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in appointing Mr. Ola Olukoyede as Chairman of the Commission on Thursday, October 12, 2023.”
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The appointment of Mr. Olukoyede to the chairmanship of the EFCC, a position of great responsibility, by Tinubu, in clear violation of the laws of the parliament, is in direct opposition to the oath he took on May 29, 2023, to uphold and defend the laws of the country.
It is crucial to remember that the EFCC’s current statutes are still inviolable and must be properly followed before choosing a chairman for the Commission. As the head of state and the person who creates laws, President Tinubu must abide by the laws already in effect regarding the EFCC and avoid setting a bad example for future administrations when appointing new members of the commission. Failure to do so might plunge the nation into chaos.
The commission will be made up of the following members, according to the EFCC Establishment Act, 2004, which the group also cited: (1) A chairman who will serve as the commission’s chief executive and accounting officer; (2) a serving or retired member of any government security or law enforcement agency with a rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police or higher; and (3) a member with at least 15 years of cognate experience.
This clause only states that not every member of the EFCC, other Forces, or the police force is eligible to serve as the organization’s executive chairman. A pilot, medical professional, administrative official, etc. with fifteen years of police or paramilitary experience is typically not qualified to enforce EFCC laws.
“All officers involved in the enforcement of the Act shall have the same powers, authorities, privileges (including the power to bear arms) as are given by law to members of the Nigerian Police,” according to Section 8(5) of the EFCC Act, Ogorry continued.
The PUNCH documents Born on October 14, 1969, Olukoyede is a native of Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State. He attended the Kennedy School of Executive Education at Harvard academic in the United States, Lagos State University, University of Lagos, and the Institute of Arbitration in France for his academic education.
The head of the EFCC was a participant in the UK Fraud Advisory Panel. In addition, he has over 22 years of experience as a lawyer, specialising in corporate intelligence and fraud management, and as a regulatory compliance consultant.
Olukoyede was the chief of staff of Ibrahim Magu, the former acting chairman of the EFCC, before taking on the role of secretary for the anti-graft organization. He is also a member of the Technical Committee of the Federal Government on the Repositioning of the Financial Intelligence Unit in Nigeria.
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