- Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has revealed why EFCC was losing cases
- Obasanjo said EFCC was losing because it failed to engage 'staunch ogbologbo lawyers'
- President Muhammadu Buhari had asked EFCC to stop losing more cases
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Sunday April 9, revealed why the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, was losing some of its cases.
Ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo
NAN reports that Obasanjo said that the EFCC was losing cases due to its failure to engage what he called “staunch ogbologbo lawyer,” stressing that most of the lawyers employed were outsiders.
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NAIJ.com gathered that the ex-president made the remark in response to a charge by President Muhammadu Buhari to the anti-graft agency to stop losing cases.
Speaking on Sunday April 9, while playing host to members of the Correspondents Chapel, Nigeria Union of Journalists, Ogun Chapter, at his hilltop residence in Abeokuta, Obasanjo said: “I was reading today when the President Muhammadu Buhari said the EFCC should stop losing cases. They lose cases for a number of reasons.
“One, they engage more of outside lawyers. I believe that they need staunch, `ogbologbo’ lawyers inside that will do the work.
“If I am a lawyer and I want the opponent to win a case, what I will file will be `wishy washy’. And if I file a `wishy washy’ case, the opponent will see the loophole and he will get out of it. I believe that it is important.
“Secondly, thorough investigation is very important. Now, investigation must be thorough, it must be proper and it must be really taken seriously. “Third, our judges must be committed in fighting corruption.
“They must be committed to fighting corruption. Because if the investigation is very sound and you have `ogbologbo’ lawyer to handle the case, if you have Salamigate, you know what the answer will be.
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“So it is a line: investigation, prosecution and the judiciary. If there is weakness along this line, chances are that corruption cases will continue to be lost."
Acting EFCC chairman, Ibrahim Magu
He also debunked the allegation that his government plotted to kill former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ishaya Bamaiyi (rtd ) as claimed by Bamaiyi in his book.
The former president explained that his administration only asked Bamaiyi to respond to accusations that he was responsible for some killings, saying that the decision was legitimate.
“That I wanted to kill him? What of the people he killed? My government did not plot to kill him. My government asked him to answer to those that were alleged to have been killed by him and that is legitimate.
“That if there is an allegation that you have done something, that you have committed a crime, then you are arrested, you should answer and that is all. Who the hell is he that I would want to kill him? Kill him for what? To achieve what? No! .
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“There were allegations, the police and the law enforcement agencies decided to look into the allegations. They invited him and they asked him to answer as a result of what was found, so they charged him to court."
Watch this NAIJ.com video of a Nigerian complaining about the state of the country:
