Former chairperson of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Farida Waziri, has spoken of her distress at how, despite committing more than three decades to serving the nation, she was booted out of office without a proper notification by the government.
Mrs. Waziri said in an exclusive interview granted Zero Tolerance, a magazine produced by the EFCC, that she got to know of her sack by President Goodluck Jonathan in November 2011, in the news media; and said she did not deserve the humiliation since she had not been found wanting for any misdemeanour.
“If you are removed like that, it has a tendency to scare some people. I wasn’t bothered that I left because my philosophy of life is simple, “what has a beginning has an end,” Mrs. Waziri said in an interview with the agency she headed for more than three years. The interview was part of events marking the EFCC’s 10th year anniversary.
“The manner of the sack was what bothered me. I have done a span of 35 years, fighting for my fatherland, I deserve some little dignity and respect. When you wake up and you see on AIT, Waziri sacked! NTA, Waziri sacked! Channels, Waziri sacked! That is the style I am talking about.”
“My predecessor’s case was even worse, but I do hope that the authorities will take note. Except you are removed as a result of gross misconduct, any other way you should be treated with dignity, respect for the human person,” she said.
Mrs. Waziri insisted it was the approach of her removal that she frowned at, not about leaving. “I knew I would one day leave. In fact, the handwriting was on the wall. I knew it was matter of time,” she said.
The former EFCC boss was sacked in November 2011 in what seemed a controversial circumstance, ending a tenure that many Nigerians and foreign partners believed largely diminished whatever gains Nigeria had made in the fight against corruption.
The sticking point of her career as the EFCC boss was the abysmal trial of former governor of Delta state, James Ibori, who escaped conviction in Nigeria due to what many believed was the EFCC’s unserious approach to the trial.
A powerful backer of the then Musa Yar’adua government, which appointed Mrs Waziri, the former governor was assisted to side-step justice by the then controversial minister of justice, Michael Aondakaa.
Mr. Ibori was later arrested in Dubai, United Arab Emirate, before being repatriated to the United Kingdom where he was convicted and is currently serving a 14-year jail term for stealing state funds.
Mrs. Waziri denied helping to free Mr. Ibori, and claimed she never knew the former governor as many claim. She also denied knowing Mr. Aondoakaa ahead of her appointment to the EFCC, but made clear Mr. Aondoakaa’s relationship with the former governor may have played a role in Mr. Ibori’s escape from the law.
“I never knew him. I never knew James Ibori. When I was appointed, I went to the villa very often because the president called his staff and told them Farida has free access to him 24/7, whether in the office or villa. So I went there very often and I met Ibori; he was always there,” she said.
“I think what happened was that my younger brother, Aondoakaa, the former attorney general was close to Ibori.”
“….if I was in league with Ibori and was not sincerely pursuing him, would he have run, gone out of this country to Dubai?”
Mrs. Waziri dismissed claims she tipped Mr. Ibori off, to flee the country after Mr. Yar’Adua’s death as “all lies of the enemies.”
“By my training and upbringing I can never betray my country for anyone, for any reason; never! Of course I was all out and that was how he ran out and went and got himself in more trouble,” she said.
She also denied widespread belief that her leadership of the EFCC lowered Nigeria’s effort against corruption when compared with the record set by her predecessor, Nuhu Ribadu.
“Go and check the record of convictions, the first conviction ever that went to logical conclusion was during Farida,” she said. “190 billion naira, one single recovery from one person that went to jail was during Farida Waziri.”
She said the negative impression accusing her of bungling several investigations, was more of a fierce media campaign against her stay in office, and said she faced intense interference in her work. She declined to give names.
“The enemies were many, ferocious; they kept on mounting the campaign of calumny, injecting the poison pen for three and half years,” she said.
“If you open the newspapers, it is Farida; if you open Saharareporters, it is Farida; if you tune the radio, it is Farida. It seems as if I was the worst civil servant in the history of Nigeria.”
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