The pioneer Chairman of the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission
( EFCC) , Mallam Nuhu Ribadu , has
explained why he ( as an Assistant
Commissioner of Police ) arrested a
former Inspector General of Police , Tafa
Balogun .
He said since justice is blind , Balogun
crossed the line and had to face trial for
corruption.
He also said there are smarter crooks
than ex- Governor James Ibori in the
country .
The EFCC , under Ribadu , had arrested
and put the former IGP on trial for
about N 5 .7 billion official corruption .
Ribadu , who bared his mind on one of
the most celebrated trials in the country
in an interview with the EFCC magazine ,
Zero Tolerance, said the fear of God
made him to arrest the then IGP instead
of his status.
He said : “ Well, the point is that whoever
crosses the line will be dealt with .
Whether a constable or an IGP, it ’s the
same thing . The solution is not to cross
the line.
“ When you execute your mandate
honestly , you become blind to the
position of individuals. Justice is blind .
“ So, Tafa Balogun was my boss as the
Inspector -General of Police, but he
crossed the line. He did things that were
wrong and was brought to our attention ,
and the law took its course .
“ To be honest , I thank God for having
only one fear: that is the fear of God. It
is not arrogance or anything , no it ’s just
that I feel what is right is right , and in
doing what is right, I don’t fear any
mortal .
“ I have never looked for anything in
terms of benefit in any position I have
occupied; even in the police, an IGP
could not give me anything .
“ A President could not give me
anything . Obasanjo never gave me an
office pin- up till this very moment .
Never !
“ A lot of people feel the EFCC broke a
lot of laws or Obasanjo gave me
everything. What did he give me ? The
entire budget of the EFCC from the
beginning to the time I left was not up
to N 11 billion! We never got anything
extra , never!
“ The people we brought to justice were
the closest people to him ( Obasanjo) .
They were PDP men ; but others will turn
it upside down and lie. It ’s really sad ,
and a lot of them got away with it . ”
On the corruption charges against ex-
Governor James Ibori , he said: “ There
are worse people than James Ibori in
Nigeria. I think probably James was not
the smartest one among them . There
are some crooks worse than James, and
I still see them .
“ Some of them are even being
celebrated right now in our country .
Some of them are trying to re- write
history. James didn’ t handle his own
criminal affairs smartly, and he ended
up paying dearly for it.
“ There are smarter crooks than James ,
who did more damage to the EFCC , but
God will judge them . James is serving a
jail term in the UK .
“ So it was not only James , and if we
narrow it down to James alone, we are
actually underestimating the way
corruption fought back .”
Responding to a question , Ribadu said
the investigation of Ibori for fraud was
not personal .
He added: “Maybe if I meet James
today, I will hug him and shake his hand
like so many others that I ’m doing daily
now . It was never personal .
“ The attempt to destroy and mess up the
EFCC was not James’ alone . It ’s a
conspiracy of so many people , including
those who pretend to be honest or good
people now; including those who made
money from the EFCC work; and they
are so many. ”
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