- Presidency moves to sack police officers from anti-graft agency
What appeared to be a major shakeup is looming at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, The Point has exclusively gathered.
The idea was to move out some officers and men of the EFCC, and according to an insider source, it “was mooted late last year, following a deluge of complaints against the leadership of the antigraft agency.”
It was alleged that the core principles, values and ideas usually associated with the agency had nose-dived and there was an urgent need to restore “those rare values.”
The Point gathered that some of the officers attached to the agency would be retired as a result of low productivity, while others would have to go on account of ill-health.
“Those that have over-stayed at one duty post would be moved to create chances for others,” a source disclosed. The Point was informed that the EFCC of today is being administered along ethnic lines, as some of the key officers working in the agency were said to have come from a particular section of the country.
Now, they have polluted the entire agency and the malfeasance would not be allowed to remain. There is a need to overhaul the place
This is said to be self-evident in the “language that is fast becoming the official language within all the administrative offices of the Agency”.
The source hinted further that aside from the ethnicity issue that has altered the federal character outlook of the agency, the Presidency had officially been informed that the anticipated transfer “would majorly affect police officers, who would be posted out to divisional levels that serve as their core call.”
An unofficial source at the Abuja headquarters of the EFCC had earlier informed The Point that the anti-graft agency had trained “core professionals the real detective jobs” that could see them holding more challenging positions currently being occupied by police officers merely seconded to the Agency. Of course, the Federal Government had trained over a thousand young university graduates with diverse backgrounds in the areas of forensic investigations, prosecution, computer forensic and sundry, spending billions of naira.
Today, police personnel constitute about 60 per cent of the workforce at the Agency. The source further said that the gradual edging out of career police officers from the agency would douse the unnecessary tension and leadership rivalry that had been the bane of the establishment over the past ten years.
“Making EFCC an independent body like the Nigeria Customs Service, or the Civil Defence will undoubtedly put the agency on a professional line,” the source said.
Although, it was not clear when the Presidency will take action on the recommendations said to have been sent to it by the Department of State Services, independent checks revealed that a gale of interdepartmental transfers would soon hit the Agency.
“Some of the officers working at the Agency, especially those with police background, used connections to get transferred to the place. Now, they have polluted the entire agency and the malfeasance would not be allowed to remain.
There is a need to overhaul the place,” the source further revealed. But EFCC spokesperson, Mr. Wilson Uwugiaren, said he was not aware of such development. “It has not been brought to my notice. So, I am not aware of any planned reorganization,” he said.
