EFCC Set To Prosecute Ex-Governors …As Group Wants JAMB Investigated

The  Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)  Chairman,  Mrs Farida Waziri, says the anti-graft body would ensure the prosecution of indicted  ex-governors.

Waziri said this yesterday  in Abuja when the National President of  the NUJ, Malam Garba Mohammed, paid her a courtesy visit.

The EFCC boss said  contrary to speculations that the EFCC had abandoned the cases involving the ex- governors,  the commission was bidding its time and planning on how to build a case against each of them.

“You have to establish a prima-facie case against a person before you make any arrest or charge. We have to build a strong case based on evidence  and witnesses before going to court.

“We have our lawyers whose legal advice we seek to see if we have a strong case before we act. We do not just arrest for the fun of  it. It is a tedious process that requires careful planning,” she said.

Waziri  also debunked allegations that she was engaging in selective  prosecution, noting that the commission’s war against graft was neither personal nor  a media campaign.

She said it was pertinent that Nigerians understood the workings of the commission, adding that the EFCC had always ensured  a thorough building up of  its cases  before making any  arrest.

“This is why no court has ever struck out any of the commission’s  cases on technical grounds,” she said.

Waziri said she had become a victim of  persistent attacks  by detractors, vowing that she would  not  be perturbed or distracted.

She decried the kidnappings and bombings in the country, saying they  were crimes caused by poverty and unemployment.

In his remarks, Mohammed said the visit to the EFCC was important  because  the union  had a good working relationship with the commission.

He said the media had a critical role to  play in helping the commission  to win the war  against corruption and other crimes.

The NUJ leader, who commended Waziri for her doggedness in the  fight  against corruption,  urged her to  rid  the country of  cyber crimes especially in institutions of  learning.

The President of NAWOJ, Asabe Baba, commended  the EFCC boss  for her achievements, saying  women were proud of  her.

The EFCC boss was presented with an  award by Mr  Chukwuma Oraegbu, the Editor-in Chief  of  the New York-based Xclusive Nigeria, an online magazine.

Oraegbu said Waziri was given the award because it was the opinion of many Nigerians, especially those abroad,  that she had fought corruption with “determination and zeal.”

Meanwhile, the Education Rights Campaign (ERC), on Wednesday, urged the EFCC to probe officers of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) over irregularities in the recent Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

Our correspondent reports that complaints had trailed the use of the biometric machines used by JAMB in the examination.

In a statement released in Lagos and signed by its National Coordinator, Mr Hassan Taiwo, the group demanded a public explanation by JAMB on why the biometric machines malfunctioned at most centres.

They also queried why writing materials and calculators were allegedly not provided to the candidates even when JAMB budgeted for it.

“We call on the EFCC and other anti-graft agencies to probe Prof. Dibu Ojerinde and other principal officers of JAMB for procuring malfunctioning biometric devices for use at examination centres.

‘ We demand that the post-UTME held at the various universities, polytechnics and colleges of education be at no cost to candidates.

“We also demand a re-composition of JAMB along democratic lines to include representatives of teachers union, students and parents in the running of the body to curtail bureaucracy and corruption,” the statement stated.

It called for an internal mechanism to be set up in the examination body, with powers to receive and act swiftly on candidates complaints.

It said the internal mechanism should also impartially investigate proven cases of malpractice.

“We demand expansion of facilities in universities, polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of education and the establishment of new tertiary institutions to accommodate the annual increase of candidates that seek for admission,’’ it said.

The statement also called for adequate funding of universities with up to 26 per cent of the annual budgets of state and federal governments.

It attributed the poor results in the 2011 JAMB examinations to the underfunding and commercialisation of the education sector.

“The poor results show how government’s neo-liberal education policies, underfunding and commercialization are wreaking the education sector’’ it further stated.

Our correspondent reports that the JAMB on June 24 released the results of the 2011 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME)

Out of the 1,493,604 candidates who registered for the examination, only 1, 450, 143 candidates sat for it.

Of this number, 50, 733 results were either withheld, under investigation or considered invalided or incomplete.

The total results released were 1,399, 410, showing a 6.3 per cent shortfall in the total number of candidates that registered for the examination.

Out of this, 597,494 candidates scored 200 and above, while 842,851 candidates scored below 200.

Of the total results released, 60.2 per cent candidates failed while about 40 per cent of the candidates passed.

From Right: Representative of NEMA Director General, Mrs Aisueni Clem; Director, Planning, Dr Charles Agbo, and Director, Administration, Dr Mohammed Zana, at a NEMA meeting with stakeholders in emergency Management in Abuja, yesterday.