EFCC AND THE DUBIOUS CLAIM OF BANKOLE
 r. Dimeji Bankole finally lost his immunity and is beset by several charges ranging for financial frauds to inappropriate use of funds and scams at the House of Representatives. His latest problem and act of indiscretion has to do with the secret loan of N10 billion naira loan he and a few others in the House took from a bank without the knowledge of most members of the House. Mr. Bankole and his co-travelers hid the loan very well from everyone until someone blew the lid on it. It was as a result of this allegation of financial crimes that Mr. Bankole was invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) about two weeks ago. The EFCC wanted Bankole to come and give his own version of the story, a fair approach in the work of an investigation and prosecution body. Mr. Bankole agreed to visit and even requested for more time to enable him take care of some urgent business of the House. His request for more time was granted by the EFCC, but suddenly Mr. Bankole woke up the other day to say that he was not properly invited. The letter of invitation sent to Mr. Bankole was delivered to the Clerk of the House of Representatives, the EFCC declared, but twice now Mr. Bankole has refused to show up.
Mr. Bankole did not show up at the EFCC despite agreeing to visit the commission's headquarters on Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 11:00a.m. Why did he agree to a meeting and failed to show up? Why is Mr. Bankole unwilling to help the EFCC to unravel the frauds that lay rooted at the House and is destroying the efforts of the nation and the international community to help rid Nigeria of corruption and punish corrupt officials? If Mr. Bankole is clean and he is sure that his reputation and good name are intact, then he should not have any trouble going to the EFCC. This sudden cold feet, the unwillingness to cooperate, his reluctance and decision to label his invitation by the EFCC as "political" are very clear indications that the former speaker would rather prefer the scams that took place while he was speaker remained buried and forgotten. Unfortunately for Mr. Bankole these allegations, as they should be seen until proven beyond reasonable doubt, must be thoroughly investigated, prosecuted, and those found guilty punished. The nation's funds must be recovered and the culprits sent to jail. Everyone is equal before the law and anyone can be invited to explain his action and/or inaction to a constitutionally established body such as the EFCC. Mr. Bankole and his supporters, particularly a few faceless members in the House who are defending him on condition of anonymity, must accept that they have no immunity to commit crime and are not by any means above the law. It will not come as a surprise that those few members who are defending Mr. Bankole may get smeared and found to be part of the scams that have bedeviled the House for years. Greed has been a major problem at the House and the whole National Assembly. This investigation by the EFCC should be very broad. It should cover the whole of the National Assembly and the Senate should form a major part of the commission's work. Has the account of the National Assembly been audited in the last four years? Independent auditors should be appointed to audit the books and financial dealings of the National Assembly. The budget of the National Assembly was about N120 billion in 2009 and N128 billion in 2010. There is every reason to audit how the funds were used and provide the nation with full disclosure. Where have all the funds gone and what did the National Assembly do with such huge funds? It is only a broad and independent audit that will truly provide the Nigerian people full disclosure of the rot and corruption, the greed and frauds, and the audacious financial and material abuses that have gone on unchecked at the National Assembly. And this is the time to do the audits. Mr. Bankole must cooperate with the EFCC. He owe it to himself and to the nation to explain his role in the N10 billion loan the House took from a bank and the other scandals in the House. He was at the centre of every one of these allegations and should be fortright enough to defend himself rather than playing the artful dodger. He knows that there are checks and balances and these checks and balances have no respect for persons, positions and titles. The problem with Nigeria has always been a lack of respect for policies and procedures, which allowed a few to get away with murder and a handful to consider themselves highly and as such above the law. In decent societies, the prosecutor at the justice department, the auditor, the policeman and other enforcers of the law carry out their duties by the rule book; they do not have to be told by the political office holders what to do and who to or not prosecute. The rules are pretty clear and apolitical civil servants are not witch-hunted for doing their job. It is because there have been so much interference with the work of the EFCC and other law enforcement agencies in Nigeria that so many people prosecuted by the EFCC and even the Nigeria Police saw their prosecution as being "politically motivated." Even Mr. Bode George said his prosecution and sentence was politically motivated! We all know that political interference is a problem in Nigeria. It was worse during the eight years President Obasanjo presided over the nation. It was taken to a new low during the short time Musa Yar'Ardua was president and the attorney general's office was occupied by a man of low character and dubious reputation. It was a time when a frauster held sway as governor and rode roughshod over the adminstration of justice in the land, the same crook who now sit in jail in London; he was the same man the government of Musa Yar'Ardua protected and the attorney general defended despite strong evidence to the contrary. Several Wiki Leaks documents exposed the kid gloves and superior air a rich and powerful criminal enjoyed in Nigeria while the EFCC did little or nothing to bring him to justice. Most of the corrupt governors of the time were not even invited by the EFCC for questioning, which is probably why Mr. Bankole and his side kicks are of the view that his invitation by the EFCC is political. It is to the shame of the nation and very clear to us all that things are not what they seem to be; there are different standards at play and the rules are not applicable evenly. There will never be a level playing field in Nigeria for as long as the nation fails to play by the rules, prefering instead to play by the name and title of the people involved. James Ibori is sitting in a London, United Kingdom jail today along with his wife, sister, mistress and lawyer because the British are playing by the rule and damned the name and titles of former governor and Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain James Ibori. It is in this perspective that we expect Mr. Bankole to remember that he is just any other Nigerian who is bound by the law of the land and whose action and activities can be probed and is being probed for several scams and frauds committed while he was speaker of the House of Representatives. Mr. Bankole must be aware of the clean up that was carried out at the House of Parliament in the United Kingdom recently, which led to the prosecution of several Members of Parliament (MPs) and the departure of some MPs from the Parliament. Many MPs refunded several thousands of pounds sterling they have taken illegally and many of them returned to their constituencies to apologize to the communities that sent them to the Parliament in London for bringing disgrace to them. It was easy for Mr. Bankole to take punitive action against some members of the House - refusing to pay their wages and allowances - after the disgraceful fights right on the floor of its chamber, even going to the extent of disobeying court orders, but now that the table has turned and he is being called to account for his action, he is developing cold feet and finding grotesque excuses to duck accountability. Mr. Bankole, you must stand up to your responsibility and go to the EFCC to defend your name and honour, if you have any. | |||
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