Protesters demanding the dismissal of the recently appointed EFCC chief disrupt the NASS

To demand Ola Olukoyede, the recently appointed chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, be fired for allegedly lacking the necessary qualifications, members of the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights stormed the National Assembly in Abuja on Tuesday.

In asking the Senate leadership, led by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, to remove Olukoyede, the group’s National Secretary Adebayo Ogorry highlighted that President Bola Tinubu is claimed to have broken the rules governing the selection of the EFCC chairman in appointing Olukoyede.

Recall that President Tinubu gave his approval last Thursday for Olukoyede to be appointed as the EFCC Chairman for an initial term of four years that is extendable, subject to Senate confirmation.

Read Also:Olukoyede’s confirmation as EFCC chairman is requested in a letter from Tinubu to the Senate

This comes after he suspended Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa, the former director of the anti-graft agency, for about four months.

“We write to draw the attention of the Senate to the gross violation of the extant laws, which is the Establishment Act 2004 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu, in appointing Mr. Ola Olukoyede as Chairman of the Commission on Thursday, October 12, 2023,” Ogorry said during the protest at the National Assembly in Abuja on Tuesday.

“Tinubu’s decision to appoint Mr. Olukoyede as the chairman of the EFCC in flagrant violation of the provisions of the laws of the parliament is contrary to the oath he took on May 29, 2023, to protect and defend the laws of the country.

“Before moving on with the appointment of a chairman for the Commission, it is crucial to emphasise that the EFCC’s existing laws remain sacred and must be properly complied with. President Tinubu, as the nation’s top citizen whose job it is to make laws, must abide by the EFCC Extant Laws in order to avoid appearing to create a bad precedent for next administrations in making his appointment, which may plunge the nation into anarchy.

The group also cited Section 1 of the EFCC Establishment Act of 2004, which states: “(1) The Commission shall consist of the following members: (a) A chairman, who shall be the Chief Executive and Accounting Officer of the Commission, (i) be a serving or retired member of any government security or law enforcement agency, (ii) be a member not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police or equivalent, and (iii) Possess not less than 15 years cognate experience.”

“This provision simply states that not all police officers, members of other Forces, or employees of the EFCC are eligible to serve as the organization’s executive chairman. A pilot, a doctor, an administrative official, etc. who has served in the police or paramilitary for 15 years is typically lacking in the necessary experience to enforce the EFCC’s laws.

This information is derived from the EFCC Act’s Section 8(5), which reads: “All officers involved in the enforcement of the Act shall have the same powers, authorities, and privileges (including the right to bear arms) as are granted by law to members of the Nigerian Police,” Ogorry continued.

Olukoyede, an Ekiti State native from Ikere-Ekiti, completed his undergraduate studies at the Lagos State University, the University of Lagos, the Institute of Arbitration in France, and the Kennedy School of Executive Education at Harvard University. He was born on October 14, 1969.

The United Kingdom’s Fraud Advisory Panel included the EFCC chairman. In addition to being a lawyer, he has over 22 years of experience as a regulatory compliance consultant, fraud management expert, and corporate intelligence specialist.

Olukoyede previously worked for the EFCC as Ibrahim Magu’s chief of staff while he was the agency’s acting chairman, and she later held the position of secretary. Additionally, he participates in the Technical Committee of the Federal Government on the Repositioning of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit.

Punch