TheCable

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says those who misappropriated the resources of the country are holding Nigerians to ransom.

Speaking in Enugu on Wednesday, Osita Nwaja, the commission’s director of public affairs, said the common man is most times at the receiving end as they are always denied their basic needs.

He appealed to “treasury looters” to “vomit what they stole” in the interest of justice.

“We hear about all the crimes and all the criminals that are being investigated and prosecuted by the EFCC,” he said.

“Many of these people have direct link to the common man. The common man does not see always because they try to blur the line of that linkage how that man who is stealing billions and trillions relates to his very callous regrettable situation in life.

“How the money meant for road, money for hospitals to take care of pregnant women, to send children to school are disappearing into people’s accounts, and people’s pockets and people’s stomach.

“Just a few people and their families and their friends and their associates and they are holding the Nigerian people to ransom.

“Vomit what you stole. We gave you this thing to keep and you ate it and then you are claiming right.”

Nwaja said the fight against corruption was fundamental to the country’s economic recovery, reiterating the commission’s determination to bring corrupt office holders to book.

“You are throwing impunity at our faces and that is not right. And that is what EFCC is saying. It is not right,” he said.

“We must bring them to justice. The accused persons themselves they have stolen billions.

“And then they will go and hire all the lawyers they can and this is where we have the problems with some of these lawyers.

“Recently we took some of them to court and then they appeared in support of themselves.

“Over 100 Senior Advocates of Nigeria to defend one man. We are talking about 103 chambers in defence of one man.

“That is immoral to say the very least.”