KEY POINTS

• CUPP has called for the immediate removal of EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede, citing incompetence.
• The coalition criticizes the EFCC’s handling of the corruption case against former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello.
• CUPP warns that EFCC’s actions could harm Nigeria’s democracy and international reputation.

The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has called on President Bola Tinubu to remove Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman Ola Olukoyede, stating that the anti-graft agency is “grossly incompetent” in its current state.

The statement was signed by 10 members of its media, strategy, steering, financial contact, and mobilization committees in Abuja on Monday.

According to a report by Vanguard, the CUPP said the following in the signed statement: “It is with utmost disappointment that the Coalition of United Political Parties has viewed the ongoing drama between the EFCC and the immediate past governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello.

“We are aware that there has been some inexplicable back-and-forth between the EFCC and the former governor for some months now, which has generated considerable public interest across Nigeria. Many Nigerians have been eager to see the day the former governor would be brought in to defend the humongous corruption allegations leveled against him by the EFCC.

“The commission went all out to declare him wanted and placed him on an international watchlist with the assistance of INTERPOL, ensuring he would be promptly arrested if found.

“It is quite intriguing that the same man the EFCC has been hunting walked into the agency’s headquarters in Abuja and was allowed to leave without being interrogated, using extremely ridiculous and flimsy excuses, one of which was that he came with a sitting governor.”

Lack of competence in EFCC leadership

“A smart and intelligent head of a security agency like the EFCC would have tactically taken the former governor into custody without much ado.

“But, clearly, the current leadership of the EFCC is clueless about the masterful art of intelligent policing. An agency like the EFCC is beyond his training as a legal practitioner.

“When the current EFCC chairman was appointed, many legal experts pointed out that the office should legally be occupied by a serving or retired senior police officer or another security agency officer.

“All those concerns fell on deaf ears. As a result, the progress made in past anti-corruption efforts has been reversed since the current leadership took office.

“If the EFCC couldn’t arrest the former governor in the presence of his predecessor, why send armed operatives to the official residence of the same sitting governor and start shooting in the middle of the night under the guise of trying to arrest someone who had already made himself available?

CUPP warns of consequences for democracy

“That incident could have ended fatally with serious consequences for our democracy. It could have overheated the polity beyond control.

“There is no valid excuse for these two errors of judgment by the EFCC. First, the agency allowed the man they declared wanted to leave their premises. Second, they mobilized forces at night to arrest the same man. The EFCC needs to explain what it is hiding and what its real interest and intentions are in this matter.

“Everything seems suspicious. Since Mr. Olukoyede took over as EFCC chairman, there has been one controversy after another. If it’s not about EFCC operatives committing gross human rights abuses, it’s about their arrogant disrespect for due process and court orders.

“With this kind of leadership, the EFCC will remain unable to effectively fight corruption. If President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is serious about fighting corruption, the current EFCC chairman should be sacked immediately and replaced by a senior professional from one of the security agencies.

“This is necessary to avoid further local and international embarrassment caused by this chairman.

“His appointment is a case of a square peg in a round hole. The geometry doesn’t align. What happened makes the insinuation that the former governor is being persecuted believable, rightly or wrongly. These people should stop playing politics with our collective sensibilities. Enough is enough.”