Petition to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, the National Assembly, the Inspector General of Police and other authorities concerned to begin immediate investigation into allegations of corruption against the Chairperson of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mrs Farida Waziri, Aliyu Umar Modibbo, editors of some national newspapers and others.

To:  The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, the National Assembly, the Inspector General of Police and publishers and management of all Nigerian national newspapers

We, the undersigned, citizens of Nigeria and well-wishers of Nigeria, hereby express our deep concerns pertaining to reports of alleged high-level corruption threatening to undermine your government’s stated commitment to the fight against corruption in Nigeria.

On Sunday, January 4, 2009, the online news outfit, SaharaReporters published a story of a potentially mind-boggling scandal involving the Chairperson of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mrs Farida Waziri and certain named and unnamed editors of Nigerian national newspapers. Below is a link to the story:


http://www.saharareporters.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=382:how-farida-waziri-and-top-nigerian-editors-got-abuja-land-allocations&catid=76:hot-topic&Itemid=205


The first point we must make here is that while it would seem from the documentation available that the position of Mrs Farida Waziri is untenable, she still must be accorded the opportunity of defending herself against these allegations in a proper forum. Secondly, while the editors do have a right to own land in the Federal Capital Territory or anywhere of their choice, the price of these allocations, the link to Waziri, Aliyu Umar Modibbo and the questionable coincidence of the timing of the whole allocations raise serious doubts about the propriety of the transactions. But they also must be accorded the right to defend themselves before Nigerians.

Having said the above, we know as a matter of fact that elements of your government are no great fans of SaharaReporters. But for whatever reason that is, all we ask of you is to look at the evidence in front of you and not the messengers. We strongly believe there is a duty on the part of your government to look into this and act appropriately, because the whole story, no matter how you look at it, does great disservice to the stated anti-corruption policy of your government. It is on that basis therefore we make the following demands on Your Excellency, the National Assembly, the Inspector General of Police in line with your constitutional responsibility to protect the integrity and good name of Nigeria and the people of Nigeria. We are also using this medium to call on the management of the newspapers involved to act to protect public trust as well.



Our Demands:


(1) The President must, as a matter of urgency, institute a high-powered probe of these allegations. We demand that the probe panel be comprised of highly credible members of civil society with no links whatsoever to the Nigerian government at any level, except where such member(s) is/are serving or retired judge(s) or justice(s). Government must absolutely guarantee the safety and security of these persons while they are on this assignment and they must in turn submit their findings promptly to the President and the National Assembly.

(2) The President must immediately suspend Mrs Farida Waziri from her position as Chairman of the EFCC while this probe is going on and her personal and closest staff at the Commission put on paid leave during the duration of the probe.

(3) The President must immediately direct the police to begin investigation immediately, secure and protect the necessary evidence, liaise with the probe panel and report directly to the President thereafter.

(4) The National Assembly must, pursuant to the powers conferred on it by Sections 88 and 89 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, summon the parties allegedly involved to come before it to give evidence at a public hearing.

(5) The National Assembly must immediately commence action on the amendment of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Establishment Act, 2004 with a view to giving these anti-corruption agencies real independent powers under the oversight of civil society persons appointed by law.

(6) The editors of the national newspapers mentioned must come out publicly now to say what they know about this matter. They must know that their honest, sincere and detailed declaration of the role they have played or lack of it is only the first stage. They must either admit to this frankly and fully or do everything to prove their innocence or the propriety of any deal they entered into over the allocations.

(7) The management of the national newspapers concerned must in their role as trustees of the people’s confidence in the Fourth Estate immediately suspend these persons until the investigative and resolution processes are concluded. Thereafter, they must act in their own and the nation’s best interest with regard to these persons.

(8) In the specific case of Comfort Obi who is the publisher of her magazine, but who is also a member of the Police Service Commission (PSC), we call on the President to immediately suspend her membership of the Police Service Commission (PSC) until the conclusion of the inquiry, the result of which must determine her position thereafter.


We state here that our demand for suspension of the persons mentioned is in no way an indictment against them. This is the decent thing to do when an accusation such as this is made and when preliminary evidence points to potential wrongdoing. They must take consolation in the fact that if they are adjudged not to have done anything wrong at the end of the whole inquiry, they will not only return to their posts vindicated, all rights suspended would be restored fully.

In all, we state clearly here that these are still allegations and no one is guilty until found to be so by a competent authority. But everyone involved should note that there are indisputable facts of the issue already out there in the public space and must therefore not act to deceive the people or compound their case, if indeed they know they are guilty.

For us, our duty is to our country and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We demand prompt action from the President and the authorities concerned.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Petition to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, the National Assembly, the Inspector General of Police and other authorities concerned to begin immediate investigation into allegations of corruption against the Chairperson of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mrs Farida Waziri, Aliyu Umar Modibbo, editors of some national newspapers and others. Petition to The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, the National Assembly, the Inspector General of Police and publishers and management of all Nigerian national newspapers was created by Nigerians Against Corruption International (NACI) and written by Kennedy Emetulu (kemetulu@googlemail.com).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.