Former Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Nuhu Ribadu will be attending a National Summit on whistleblowing and the fight against corruption is a clear showing that he is still an unsung hero in the Country.
Ribadu will be attending the event tagged: “Fight Against Corruption: Harnessing The Whistleblowing Opportunities” alongside Human Right Activist, Femi Falana, at the Rockview Hotel in Abuja.
The summit was planned by African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL), in conjunction with House Committee on Financial Crimes, Socio-economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, and Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism, WSCIJ.
The event is part of the AFRICMIL’s Corruption Anonymous Project which is targeted at building public confidence and supporting the whistleblower policy of the Federal Government.
Ribadu’s achievement as EFCC Chairman
In 2003, Nuhu Ribadu was appointed as the pioneer Executive Chairman of EFCC by President Olusegun Obasanjo to counter corruption and fraud in the Country.
Ribadu’s several achievements included the delisting Nigeria from the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FAFT); an organization established by G8 summit in 1989 to fight the problem of money laundering.
He was also able to remove Nigeria from Financial Crime Enforcement Network (FINCEN) of the US Department of Treasury which specialize in collecting and analysing information on transactions to combat money laundering internationally.
His reputable achievement earned the Commission, the title of the fore-most Anti-Corruption Agency in Africa.
One of the fights against corruption by Ribadu-led EFCC was the prosecution of Emmanuel Nwude, Fred Ajudua and others who were arrested for defrauding a Brazilian bank of $242 million.
The culprits pleaded guilty as charged and were sentenced to various prison terms.
Governors like Ayo Fayose, James Ibori, Jolly Nyame, Saminu Turaki, Joshua Dariye, Chimaroke Nnamani were arrested and prosecuted for the mismanagement of public funds.
Former Police Boss Tafa Balogun and ex-Governor of Bayelsa Diepreye Alamiyeseigha were prosecuted and jailed for corruption.
EFCC also invited prominent bankers, Public Officers.
The former Chairman’s fight against corruption did go without criticism, with many accusing him of partisanship and going after Governors and enemies of the President in power.
In 2007, Obasanjo reappointed him to head the anti-graft commission and also promote him to Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), but few months after late President Umar Yar-Adua was elected, he ordered all AIGs on a compulsory one year study at the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), in Kuru, near Jos.
The order ended Ribadu Chairmanship of EFCC.
His attempt at Politics and his many part switches
In 2009, Ribadu left for Britain after claiming his life is being threatened and in danger. He later returned in 2010 and declared his intention to run for President under Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), which is now known as All Progressive Congress (APC).
He left the APC few months to the 2015 General Elections and joined PDP to contest for the Governorship of Adamawa State.
Explaining why he left, Ribadu said he had a fundamental disagreement with the way the Chapter of the Party in his State was being run.
He also said he was disappointed with the way Governor Nyako was impeached by the State House of Assembly in 2014.
Under PDP, Ribadu lost the election to Jubrilla Bindow who was the incumbent Governor.
He returned to APC in 2016, triggered by his belief that all politics were local and that almost everyone around him who started politics with him believed the time had come for them to make sacrifices and concession.
“They demonstrated in words and action that they wanted me back home. The intractable crises in the PDP also made it impossible for one to contribute to the necessary task of building a viable opposition platform for our country.
“I also did a deep and long reassessment of the circumstances that warranted my exit from the APC in the first place.
Ribadu’s party-switching dented the reputation he got when he was EFCC chairman, as many believe he would have remained an unprecedented hero had he not venture into politics or, at the very least, seem desperate for power as reflected in his many cases of political decamping.
