Michael Nzekwe and Mrs Juliet Ibekaku are currently before the National Industrial Court, Abuja, to challenge what they individually regarded as illegal termination of their lawful employment with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The National Industrial Court is the constitutionally recognised legal form for the determination of all employment-related issues. And of recent, it is credited to have made several landmark judgments with far-reaching implications.

This alleged breach of the fundamental right to fair hearing before the National Industrial Court is also a matter that has connection to the rule of law and goes to the kernel of the rationale behind the perception that constitutional democracy is today regarded as the best form of government. But several months while the matter is ongoing in court, Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Lamorde, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (a law enforcement officer) authorised the payment of hundreds of thousands of naira of public money to carry advertorials in two newspapers, in the form of a disclaimer, to tarnish the public image of these two Nigerians who are still pursuing fundamental right enforcement case against the Lamorde-led EFCC. This same chairman had purportedly and allegedly hired a private lawyer (I'm told) to handle the matter of his defence before the National Industrial Court, in the matter instituted by the duo of Michael Nzekwe and Mrs Juliet Ibekaku. Why not the regular lawyers on the payroll of the commission as staff; or is there something fishy there?

When my group, the Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA) of Nigeria got wind of this patent and manifest abuse of the fundamental human rights of these two citizens allegedly by the chairman of EFCC, especially when the two newspapers ran the disclaimer last weekend, we intervened. Indeed, HURIWA has consistently observed the proceedings in both the National Industrial Court and the National Human Rights Commission. We have it on good authority that the grudge by the chairman over the active role played by Juliet Ibekaku in achieving the granting of legislative autonomy by the National Assembly to the Financial Intelligence Unit, hitherto under EFCC is behind the harassment and locking out of this lady by armed security from her office within the EFCC head office. She quietly proceeded to both the National Human Rights Commission and the National Industrial Court to challenge the abuse of her human rights. So, why the disclaimer? Is it because she has decided to busy herself with rendering selfless services to humanity in the field of politics and someone in EFCC is scared that she may get higher political office?

Michael Nzekwe has also filed a matter before the National Industrial Court over his unconstitutional sack from office. We investigated and found out that before he was pushed out of office over allegedly overstaying his holiday, he was handling a petition filed against an official of EFCC who has close marital ties with the EFCC chairman, which was written by a law firm on the instructions of two persons. But EFCC has gone ahead with this disclaimer even when this matter is in court filed by this gentleman whose reputation is being tarnished or deliberately being dragged to the mud by the EFCC.

Why the disclaimer, when this gentleman for several months that he was illegally chased out if office has never appeared anywhere in public to claim to be a staff of EFCC, even though he is challenging his sack? This definitely says a lot about the underlying grudge by the current management of EFCC against this young man.

EFCC had done a rejoinder to HURIWA’s intervention, saying that we were simply wrong in jumping into this matter when there were other related cases of sack of the EFCC's staff. But I ask: Is HURIWA a magician to know that certain staff of EFCC were sacked recently? By the way, were these categories of persons sacked over similar so-called official offence of ‘desertion’ for which the blossoming jobs of Mr Nzekwe and Mrs Juliet Ibekaku were wrongfully terminated? Why the disclaimer several months after they were chased out of office? We saw a copy of a petition authored by Mrs Attang, a suspect in the N35 billion pension scam, who alleged that she was extorted of several millions and the petition alleged the involvement of this EFCC officer linked to the chairman, Mr Habeeb Aliyu. Why was there no public hearing on this very damaging petition?

The Harmony Chambers purportedly retained by Mrs Uzoma Attang (our client), a director with the Federal Ministry of Communication Technology, Abuja and on her behalf and instructions forwarded this petition to your office. The petition stated thus:

”Our brief is to the effect that our client who worked in Lagos office of Police Pension Office, and was later transferred to Federal Ministry of Finance in 2008, was invited by EFCC operatives on the strength of a petition written by one Chukwuemeka Anagor, a former branch manager of client’s husband’s company, Royal Diadem Business Logistics Limited. Our client was first invited by EFCC in June 2010; and one Pascal was the leader of the team then reporting to one Bello. Between 2010 and now, our client had passed through three other investigative teams, namely: the team led by one Suleiman, another led by one Mailafia and James Vandavan and, lastly, the team led by Aliyu Habeeb. We have it on good authority that all through the period of investigation of Pascal, Suleiman, Mailafia and James’ teams, no request for money was made and non was offered, neither was there any agent in-between.

“It is further our brief that sometime in July, 2012, Mr Aliyu Habeeb called our client on phone that her attention was needed at EFCC office and she promptly reported. She was taken through what was called ‘EFCC Documentation’ and was later made to write statement on the procedure for payment under the Police Pension, and later she was asked questions about Chukwuemeka Anagor; who he was and who he was to her, etc. Our client was equally questioned by the operatives on the issues raised by Chukwuemeka’s petition, prompting our client to demand from the operatives whether she was invited on the petition of Anagor or the Police Pension fraud. Our client made it clear to the operatives that she never worked at Abuja office of the Police Pension Office, and was never invited on the issue which was already pending in court as at then.

“Our client also responded to the issues raised in Chukwuemeka Anagor by stating that she had offered explanations before the previous teams of EFCC investigators because there were no new issues.

“However, our client was compelled to write a fresh statement on the same issues bothering on Chukwuemeka’s petition. It is imperative to state here that it was Mr Mike Okoro who called our client and hinted on possible invitation by EFCC operatives. He was emphatic that our client will be detained and later his assertions came to pass when she was remanded in EFCC custody till the next day when she was granted administrative bail.

“Mr Okoro offered to help through the same people that assisted him when he was invited by the same Aliyu group. And when questioned by our client on the mode and nature of the assistance, he informed our client that his contact with Habeeb and his group was one Sylvester Okereke. He later told our client that the assistance will require the sum of N50 million for logistics and PR between the chairman and the director, operations. Our client strongly suspects that the inclusion of her name on the Police Pension charge is squarely on the basis of her refusal to part with the additional N20 million demanded by Aliyu Habeeb and his co-travellers, as our client had at various times protested her innocence over the police pension fraud.

“We urge you, Sir, to investigate this matter with a view to righting the wrongs of the Aliyu Habeeb-led investigating team....”

We think the National Assembly or indeed another independent body ought to investigate these range of allegations, since the chairman has through the rejoinder to our intervention shown open bias against this petitioner and boasted that they have been locked up and are being prosecuted. Can someone be a prosecutor and judge in his own matter? This impunity must stop. Again, is there any reason for a government agency like EFCC to openly disrespect a competent court of law by publishing a disclaimer on a matter before the court with constitutional jurisdiction over employment rights issues?

Come to think of it, why is there no independent body apart from the National Assembly to be vested with the legal authority to investigate claims of abuses allegedly committed by staff of EFCC, just the same way that the Police Service Commission has supervisory role over police operatives from deputy inspector-general down to middle level ranks? This is necessary because filing petition at the National Assembly is cumbersome, and it will be better if an office with lean staff is created by the National Assembly for this purpose.

•RIGHTSVIEW appears on Wednesdays and Saturdays, in addition to special appearances. The Columnist, popular activist Emmanuel Onwubiko, is a former Federal Commissioner of Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission and presently National Coordinator of Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria (HURIWA).

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