The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of always rushing to the media with photos and names of young students and other petty suspects but are too slow or unwilling to name and shame big-time suspected thieves of public funds.

In a statement on Sunday by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, and National Media Affairs Director, Miss Zainab Yusuf, HURIWA condemned what it called the illegal practices of parading suspects before the media even before there is a judicial determination of charges against such persons or organizations.

The rights group said there was absolutely nothing wrong in disclosing names and offences of persons already considered one way or the other by the competent court of law recognised under section 6 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of 1999 as amended.

It however accused the EFCC of “deliberate obfuscation and concealment of identities of some influential government officials accused of frauds.”

HURIWA said it was irregular for the leadership of the EFCC to be going around government offices “cap-in-hand begging for partnerships with these same organs of government even when there is a notorious fact that most of these Ministries and Departmental and Agencies are the bastion of massive corruption in government.”

Specifically, HURIWA condemned the anti-graft agency for concealing the identity of the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) from whom it made multi-million naira recovery recently.

According to a statement released by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, a former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), has forfeited the sum of N250 million to the Federal Government.

However, it did not reveal the name of the said former Managing Director in the statement which the rights group described as an “act of cowardice and a show of shame” which depicts the EFCC as an organ that is partial against perceived suspects who are not politically-connected or exposed.

The rights group said the same EFCC is too quick to parade students of higher educational institutions rounded up for simply holding laptops and computers but this same EFCC is hibernating with the biggest thieves in public offices.

The EFCC had claimed that based on an application for final forfeiture of the fund by the Lagos zonal office of the EFCC, Justice Rilwan Aikawa of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, recently granted the final forfeiture of the money. The statement was duly signed by spokesman Dele Oyewale. HURIWA said this is a gross display of reckless partiality.

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