By Chuks Nnamdi
ON April 12 2017, Nigerians were regaled with tales of another discovery of mind boggling amounts of monies in various foreign currencies by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in an Ikoyi apartment. While there was controversy about the initial amount reported, by 14th April, Nigerians were told that the monies were $43.4m, N23.2, and £27,800. The controversy did not end there. In fact, that was the beginning. So many parties were said to be the owners of the discovered loot. Nigerians waited and watched. Then stepped in the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), an agency most Nigerians had never heard of, to lay claim to the money.
Since the NIA released the statement that the money belongs to the agency, there has been all sorts of hue and cry from Nigerians. Most of these are speculations by people who are either not qualified to comment on national security matters or are grossly misinformed about same. Everyone has become a security analyst or commentator. That is not the sad part. The sad part is that even those Nigerians who are well informed and should know better have joined the bandwagon of name calling and finger pointing. Gradually, we have unwittingly, made ourselves a laughing stock before the international community.
For those who do not know, the NIA is Nigeria’s equivalent of America’s CIA or UK’s MI6. One thing synonymous with them all is clandestine. To call them their right name, they are all spy agencies. Their primary duty is spying on foreign nationals and foreign countries. And all countries have them. They work round the clock to keep their countries safe. Their work is very relevant, necessary, and important. But their job is a thankless one. When there are missteps, they are vilified. When they excel, no one hears of them. We know it is their job. And they are good at what they do.
Since May 2015, when the Buhari led administration came into power, it has tried to fight corruption wherever it has been shown to exist. It has also fought corruption even in some places where no one knew it existed. As part of its campaign promises, the government is doing exactly what it said it will do in terms of fighting corruption. Corruption has also been fighting back. The government anticorruption champion, the EFCC, has had its share of the mind of Nigerians in the way and manner it handled some cases. Some have heaped praises on the EFCC, others have claimed that their numerous discoveries of orphaned loots running into billions of Naira are fraudulent, cleverly designed to confuse and distract Nigerians. But just like the NIA, their job also, is a thankless one.
From all indications, Nigeria and Nigerians are a special case. There is something fundamentally flawed in us or with our systems. If not, can we say we have ever heard in other climes, where clandestine operations bothering on national security are exposed without consequences? Remember Edward Snowden is still hiding from US law enforcement in Russia for leaking sensitive and classified information. The EFCC is charged with investigating and prosecuting financial crimes wherever it has been committed within the shores of Nigeria. But investigation is different from romancing the press and giving them just enough information to cast aspersions and convict suspects without due process in the law courts. Sadly, that is the case in Nigeria.
Then consider the inter agency rivalry that currently exists among our different government agencies, and the subsequent embarrassing exposés coming out every week. So much that should be classified information, clearly marked ‘for your eyes only’, or shared ‘on a need to know basis’ have become public knowledge. It is a given that the EFCC has far ranging powers where issues of financial crimes are concerned, but the Act that established the NIA, and the nature of its operations precludes it from the EFCC’s investigations. In fact, the provisions of Paragraph 12 (1) and (2) of the National Intelligence Agency Instrument No 1, a subsidiary legislation to the National Security Agencies Act 1986, is very explicit on this. The NIA is accountable to the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria and its accounts are not subject to external audit. This does not mean that its accounts are not audited. They are. But the auditing are done by highly trained intelligence auditors. Those with clearance to know the details of the types of clandestine activities that are carried out in the name of Nigeria. This is necessary because if some of the actions that are carried out in our collective name were to become public knowledge, most of us would demand that those acts cease immediately. However, they are necessary actions that must be carried out if we are to remain safe as a nation.
The renewed zeal of the EFCC in fighting corruption in Nigeria is understandable and commendable. But does that mean exposing Nigeria’s clandestine operations, just for the sole purpose of saying it is exposing corruption? Most knowledgeable Nigerians know what a Safe House is. It is safe for the simple reason that it appears so ordinary. It is never marked a safe house, except to those with clearance to know of its existence. Once it becomes compromised, it no longer serves its function of being a safe house. From reports widely available, the NIA informed the EFCC that the apartment in Osborne Towers Ikoyi was a safe house. That information alone should have been enough for the EFCC to steer clear of the apartment as any further action could have compromised national security. But did the EFCC steer clear of the apartment? No. They raided it instead with a retinue of journalists’ cameras flashing and documenting every step through livestreaming it on Facebook of all places! Nigeria’s saving grace is that only money was found in that apartment.
Let us consider another scenario. Assuming the safe house was not only holding money, but also held some foreign nationals that had been suspected or accused of acts treasonous to Nigeria and Nigerians by the intelligence community, what would have been the headline of most newspapers after the raid? What of the international community? How would they have seen us? This therefore leads us to the crux of the matter. Who was responsible for the security breach that led to the compromise of the safe house? Given the EFCC’s constitutional limitation regarding the NIA, did the person who authorized the raid have clearance to authorize such a raid on an intelligence agency facility? Why was the raid carried out in the full glare of the press by livestreamed by the EFCC, even when it had fore knowledge that the facility belonged to the NIA? Was the Office of the National Security Adviser – ONSA, the overseer of the NIA, informed of the impending raid because of the likely national security implications? When the EFCC got information that the NIA was holding huge sums of cash in various currencies in the apartment, did they investigate to find out why the money was held in the apartment and if a financial crime had been committed? Who takes the blame for the gross embarrassment that Nigeria has suffered?
These are questions that should be addressed by the Vice President Osinbajo led panel. But most importantly, the inter agency rivalry must also be addressed. This government is working assiduously to deliver on its campaign promises, but it seems as if its functionaries are also busy creating distractions and unduly embarrassing the government and other functionaries. Maybe it is about time the government organized a teamwork 101 course for all its functionaries. That way, future embarrassments will be nipped in the bud.
Chuks Nnamdi wrote from Abuja