The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said it is investigating a leaked audio recording of its official, who alleged that Abubakar Malami, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, largely influences the action of the agency.
This was announced in a statement issued by Wilson Uwujaren, EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, on Thursday.
In the trending audio, Mohammed Idris, a lawyer and police officer attached to the EFCC, claimed that Malami, who as the AGF, supervises the commission head by Abdulrasheed Bawa, compromised cases of corruption in the country.
Abdulbari Yusuf, a younger brother to a retired Rear Admiral and former director of Navy Accounts, Tahir Yusuf, who was facing charges of corruption, was heard saying in a conversation with Idris that Malami was in charge of the anti-graft body and had ordered the unfreezing of “big accounts”.
“Malami now controls the EFCC. The commission is in his hands. Once Malami speaks, the account will be unfrozen. They are unfreezing suspects’ accounts, including the big cases,” Yusuf revealed in the audio obtained by Daily Nigerian.
Reacting, the EFCC said it had commenced investigation into the content of the audiotape and will activate its internal mechanism to deal with the issues arising therefrom.
The anti-graft agency, however, discredited the comments by Idris, describing him as “a corrupt fifth columnist”.
The statement read: For the avoidance of doubt, the EFCC does not condone acts of corruption. Abuse of privilege for financial gratification by personnel of the Commission is a serious offence against discipline.
“Without prejudice to the outcome of the investigation, snippets of the audio recording clearly showed an abysmally compromised “officer” dropping names to ingratiate his benefactor, a relative of a crime suspect. By the alleged action, the said officer is no more than a corrupt fifth columnist with scant regard for the values of the Commission.
“The action is contemptuous of the established Standard Operating Procedure of the EFCC. Such professional indiscretion has no place in the new EFCC. The Commission encourages citizens who encounter any such unprofessional conduct by personnel of the EFCC to report to the Commission in support of our quest to build a better Agency.
“Reporting such conducts has been made easy by the Eagle Eye App, a financial crime reporting application which was launched earlier in the year. We encourage members of the public to download the App from the Apple and Google Play Store and put it to use.
“Finally, the Commission wishes to assure the public that its operations are guided by established professional precepts which do not support the kind of discretion that could allow for manipulation by external actors.”
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