Average Nigerian will steal, says new EFCC chairman Olukayode
Ola Olukoyode, the newly appointed chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Wednesday, asserted that an average Nigeria is predisposed to steal, due to the lack of effective credit system. Olukoyode said when he appeared before the Senate for screening.
He said, “Without downplaying the importance of enforcement, there is what we call a transactional credit system. If we continue to allow Nigerians to buy houses, cars and other luxurious properties by cash, because we don’t have an effective credit system, one thousand anti-corruption agencies will not do us any good and that is the reality.
“We must create an atmosphere to make sure that people have choices. If I don’t steal money, can I afford to train my children in school with good standards? If I don’t steal money, can I buy a car after I have worked for five years? If I don’t steal money, can I put a three-room bungalow in place after I have worked for 20 years?
“An average Nigerian does not own a home, when he has the opportunity, he would steal. Even if he does not have the opportunity he would create one.”
Olukoyode also urged the judiciary to speed up the adjudication of corruption cases.
He stated, “We must encourage our criminal justice system to adjudicate in such a way that it will not drag for a very long time
“Prosecution should not be allowed to last for a maximum of five years from the court of first instance to the Supreme Court. The Senate can work on that very seriously. If we make the administration of the criminal justice system really work, you will see the great work the anti-corruption agencies are doing.”
President Bola Tinubu recently appointed Olukoyode, a former secretary of the anti-graft commission, to succeed Abdulrasheed Bawa.
Olukoyode, while serving as the commission’s secretary, was suspended by the erstwhile administration of president Muhammadu Buhari to pave the way for investigation of corrupt allegations.
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Apart from Olukoyode, the former chairman, Ibrahim Magu was equally suspended after a panel headed by former Court of Appeal president, Ayo Salami, indicted him of corrupt practices.
Opponents of Olukoyode’s appointment believed President Tinubu’s action violated the relevant section of the EFCC Act, which states that an occupier of the police must have 15 years of cognate experience and must have actively worked in any of the country’s security institutions.
