Should EFCC be involved in private transaction?

Former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairman, Barnabas Gemade, said the arrest of Chukwuma is an abuse and misuse of power. He said it is wrong for the EFCC to arrest a reputable entrepreneur and warned that it could send wrong signals to his foreign partners.
“I want to speak from the angle of misuse of power and authority. The economy is being mismanaged. This story as has been reported, it beats one’s imagination. EFCC cannot just get up and looked up and arrest an entrepreneur if the bank did not cook up something. Banks are just parasites. They do not contribute anything to the economy of the nation. Those who are adding to the economy are more important to us than bank directors.
“It will reduce the status of this Senate if we begin to mention names of bank managers who hide stolen funds for corrupt individuals. The Senate should condemn what has happened to Chukwuma who has created over 50,000 jobs. If there is a problem, the bank should settle it. They should not use an inept institution like the EFCC to hound hard working Nigerians. We call for his immediately release,” he said.

Chukwuma arrested like common criminal?
Deputy Leader of the Senate, Bala Ibn Na’Allah, said the action of EFCC is a mentality inherited from the military era. He said Mr. Chukwuma could have been invited without resorting to the invasion of his private residence.
He noted: “I tried as much as I can to restrain myself from contributing. This no doubt, is a carryover of a military mentality. Innoson is an industrialist who is producing cars for this country. Is there no way you can bring such a man to answer questions without breaking his gate to arrest him? There are other civilised standards? Why is Nigeria so unique? These things do not happen in other African countries around us. Our procedures which we inherited must be reversed.
“We must condemn this thing. When we opted for democracy, it was to enable us predict what will happen. To allow people to do what they like because they are occupying some offices should be condemned. What happened in Enugu yesterday (Tuesday) is a wrong signal. It will send a wrong signal to his foreign partners that he is a criminal. We must adopt civilised standards.”
Senate Chief Whip, Professor Olusola Adeyeye, said if a man of Chukwuma’s influence can be arrested like a common criminal no Nigerian is, therefore, safe in the country.
He said there is no greater threat to democracy than when people violate the liberties of the citizens. He called on Nigerians to condemn the action of the EFCC and said this uncivilised practice must stop.
Adeyeye said: “I am sad. I believe that my sadness envelopes the whole chamber. When injustice is forced on any Nigerian, it is forced on all of us. When you can treat someone who can call a politician and have any access to anyone can be arrested like a criminal then we are in trouble. It means if anybody writes a petition to the EFCC, any of us here can be arrested.
“We should not only condemn this. We need to ensure that this nonsense stops. The EFCC is a creation of the law. The law is clear on what the EFCC can address. How can EFCC slap any man’s wife? I wish women of Nigeria can rise up and insist that this nonsense stops. The EFCC must not take the law into its hands.
“It has been said that the rights of this man have been violated. If a case was taken to court and he won at these courts, what is the business of EFCC? There is no greater threat to democracy than when you violate the liberties of the citizens.”

What is Senate’s relevance?
Senator Sam Anyanwu who heads Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions Committee queried the relevance of the Senate, if it cannot stop what he described as the illegal action of the EFCC.
He said: “Some of us who are new in this chamber say things the way we see it. We are not political about it. I do not understand the workings of the Senate. As it stands today, does the EFCC have a chairman? The man was rejected and he is still there. I want them to plant money in my village and my people will not allow them go alive. Somebody died in EFCC’s custody and his body is still in the mortuary for over a year.
“I do not know what we are doing in this Senate. If we allow this thing to stand, we will not be able to do anything. Is Magu the only person in this country? Are there no other Nigerians who can do the job? Is there anybody who is not indebted to banks? One day, the EFCC will arrest a man who cannot impregnate his wife.”
Senate Deputy Minority Leader, Bwacha Emmanuel, said he is embarrassed by the action of the EFCC. He said as a parliament, the Senate must take a position and act swiftly.
He said: “I sat here and listened to this story. I am embarrassed, saddened and feeling bad. I am just finding it difficult to comprehend the dehumanising impact of this treatment. I know this man personally. As a parliament, we need to act. If truly that the wife of Innoson was slapped by EFCC operatives, someone must be held responsible.
“If that is not done, we will be wasting our time here. If we do not do something to protect this democracy, somebody will crumble this house. What is the business of EFCC with a transaction between a bank and an individual? If we do not act, one day, it will be our time. The Executive must act and address this issue.”
President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, in his final intervention, said the action of EFCC does not speak well of the country. He said in the United States of America, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), does not get involved in trivial issues like this.
“Truly, those who have contributed have raised important issues. As a society, this does not speak well for the country. How a private transaction has become the business of the EFCC is what I do not know. I have not seen the FBI intervenes between people involved in a transaction. We are just making a mockery of the institution,” he concluded.

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