TheCable

Nuhu Ribadu, former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), says the unholy alliance of corrupt people against the anti-corruption war is reminiscent of 2007.

Ribadu was in December 2007 removed from the position of EFCC chairman, a decision which was believed to have been engineered by parties averse to his anti-corruption crusade.

According to Ribadu, the present EFCC chairman Ibrahim Magu is doing a good job in spite of the “challenges” he and his team have to contend with.

Speaking on Tuesday at the fifth anniversary of Connected Development (CODE), he expressed empathy with Magu, saying, “I have passed through this myself”.

The former presidential candidate also lauded the anti-corruption efforts of the federal government.

According to Ribadu, “there is no doubt that the current anti-corruption regime in the country is working.

“We are witnessing essentially a classical case of state capture in which individuals, including those in high public office, use their position to undermine the state and its policies because of their personal interest.

“Unfortunately, some people who are supposed to be part of efforts at restitution are colluding with those who have stolen our commonwealth to frustrate the work of those who are genuinely committed in reversing the ugly trend.

“And as this unholy alliance of corrupt people in and out of government takes root, it is us, the ordinary Nigerians, that are the victims.

“Those who have been a stumbling block to the war against corruption clearly do not understand or feel the biting impact of corruption. If they do, they would not put up the kind of resistance we are currently witnessing in the efforts to make a success of the anti-corruption war.

“At the implementation level, I am of the opinion that Ibrahim Magu and his team are doing a great job and they need the support of all well-meaning Nigerians.

“I know how tough this work is, and I can appreciate the challenges they are contending with. We must support and encourage them. Not because we like or dislike them but because they are offering a selfless national service, and they are doing it very well.

“I have chosen to take a stand on this because I have passed through this myself and I see similar signs of those dark moments of 2007 hovering all over us.

“It is always a dangerous cocktail when some corrupt elements in power decide to side with private interests outside government, using the rule of law as a ruse, to muscle sincere efforts to tackle corruption.”