The Prof. Itse Sagay-led Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption has urged Nigerians and the National Assembly to reject the proposed bill for the amendment of the establishment Act of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The panel in a Wednesday statement argued that the proposed amendment of the Act was part of “an ongoing very sinister and dangerous attempt to demolish the anti-corruption infrastructure of Nigeria and return it to the situation it was in during the dark days before 2015.”
The controversial bill seeks to weaken the EFCC and its officials and put the commission under the control of the Attorney General of the Federation.
Although Sagay did not mention AGF Abubakar Malami as sponsor of the bill, he tackled the minister for what he described as his proclivity for aborting criminal cases in favour of major political and governmental figures.
Sagay said the proposed amendment would effectively turn the commission into a department in the Federal Ministry of Justice.
Part of the statement read: “With all the above established facts, the gravity of the proposed change becomes overwhelming.
“When in addition to all this, we recall the well-known proclivity of the attorney-general for entering nolle procequi in favour of major political and governmental figures, this move to effectively scrap the EFCC becomes more alarming.
“We therefore call on the National Assembly and all Nigerians to vigorously reject this attempt to perpetrate fraud on the nation by effectively scuttling the EFCC and shutting down Nigeria’s anti-corruption war.”
