NIGERIA: EFCC CHAIR WAZIRI'S FIRST MONTH, SOME

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ABUJA 001331 SIPDIS STATE FOR AF/W, INR/AA, INL DOE FOR GEORGE PERSON E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/07/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL KCOR KCRM NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA: EFCC CHAIR WAZIRI'S FIRST MONTH, SOME WORRYING SIGNS REF: A. ABUJA 1079 ¶B. ABUJA 946 ¶C. ABUJA 898 ¶D. ABUJA 643 ¶E. SANDERS-SILSKI E-MAIL OF 5/22/2008 Classified By: Political Counselor Walter Pflaumer for reasons 1.4. (b & d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. One month after Farida Waziri's June 5 Senate confirmation as new Chairwoman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) the jury is still very much out on Waziri's true intentions and any fallout her leadership choices will have on the EFCC as an institution; we believe that the future of the institution is still very shaky. Since Waziri assumed office, however, the EFCC has made a number of high-profile arrests: the former Coordinator and Deputy Coordinator of the Police Equipment Fund (PEF),two former Ministers of Aviation, and a handful of former officials of Bauchi State. Nigerian political pundits and press are divided on a major redeployment of staff, some (including Waziri's stated intention) see it as an attempt to rid the institution of politicized decision making, while others argue that it is an attempt to weaken the EFCC's capacity to investigate and prosecute corrupt officials and selectively avoid investigating others or go after Obasanjo loyalists. We will monitor her every step closely, continue to note our concerns about the future of the institution, and advance our anti-corruption programs and activities. Ambassador also attended a July 8 roundtable on concerns about the EFCC by partners for UNODC Director General. Below, we highlight what she has/has not done to date and note worrying signs. END SUMMARY. EFCC ACTIVITY IN WAZIRI'S FIRST MONTH -------------- ¶2. (C) POLICE EQUIPMENT FUND (PEF) ARRESTS: On June 23, the EFCC formally charged Coordinator of the PEF, Chief Kenny Martins, and his Deputy, Ibrahim Dumuje, with mismanagement of approximately 50 million Naira ($427,000) from the PEF. The mismanaged funds were reportedly used to purchase gifts, including cash and vehicles. On June 20, the EFCC issued a 7-day ultimatum that recipients return the "gifts" or face prosecution. (NOTE: No subsequent arrests have been announced.) Martins and Dumuje's arrests were made in connection with an investigation reportedly initiated by a petition from Integrity International-Nigeria and Sultan of Sokoto Muhammed Sa'ad Abubakar III, who served as Chairman of the PEF until his recent resignation. Reports indicate the two were held and questioned as early as April 13 regarding the funds. FYI: Martins is former President Obasanjo's brother-in-law. End FYI. ¶3. (C) TRANSPORTATION SECTOR ARRESTS: Former Ministers of Aviation Femi Fani-Kayode and Babalola Borishade were arrested on June 30 following a Senate aviation sector probe of the 19.5 billion Naira ($166 million) Aviation Intervention Fund. The Senate found an inflated 6.5 million Naira ($55,000) "Safe Tower" contract awarded by the administrations of the former Ministers to Avsatel Ges MB of Austria. Information gathered following the EFCC's arrest of George Eider, Managing Director of Avsatel, led to the arrest of the former Ministers. FYI: Fani-Kayode was Obasanjo's Special Advisor for Public Affairs prior to his appointment as Minister. Borishade is also a close personal associate of Obasanjo whose nomination was turned down by the Senate three times in 2003 before an agreement was finally reached to confirm him for a Ministerial appointment. End FYI. (Comment: Some critics of Waziri contend that these arrests and that of Martins indicate a new focus on Obasanjo's allies, and mark a return to the use of the EFCC as a political tool to go after the perceived enemies of the President, as Obasanjo often did during his administration. End comment.) ¶4. (C) STATE GOVERNMENT INVESTIGATIONS: Members of the former Bauchi State government (former Finance Commissioner, former Accountant General and former Secretary to the State ABUJA 00001331 002 OF 003 Government) were questioned by the EFCC on July 1 regarding the alleged misappropriation of approximately 1 billion Naira ($8.5 million). The funds were reportedly intended for rural electrification projects and investments into the Yankari Game Reserve. On July 7, the EFCC called in two commissioners serving under current Adamawa Governor Murtala Nyako for questioning regarding alleged inflated contracts worth approximately 6.8 billion Naira ($58 million). The EFCC has already questioned Governor Nyako, the Deputy Governor, Chief of Staff to the Governor, and members of the State House of Assembly over the contracts. ¶5. (C) President Yar'Adua explained to the Ambassador on April 3 that he was unhappy with what he saw as the politicization of the EFCC under former Chairman Ribadu and holdovers connected to him. The President said he wanted to improve the EFCC's professionalism on prosecutions and its investigative capacity, and to obtain more convictions (Ref. D). He later in the press portrayed Waziri's appointment as part of his efforts to strengthen the rule of law. On May 22, Secretary to the Government of the Federation Babagana Kingibe reiterated to the Ambassador that Ribadu had done a good job, but that Waziri is the right person to further strengthen the institution and improve its performance on rule of law (Ref. E). (Note: It remains to be seen what the real commitment of the President is on the issue, although he says the right things. End Note.) ¶6. (C) IN HER OWN WORDS: WAZIRI'S COMMENTS: Meanwhile, in her initial meeting with Amb. Sanders (Ref. A) and subsequent public statements, Waziri has emphasized the need to continue capacity building efforts within the EFCC and strengthen its commitment to due process. At a Commonwealth Business Council meeting in London July 5-6, Waziri highlighted the importance of the rule of law, good governance and democracy, noting that corruption thrives because of weak institutions. On July 9, Waziri, in a meeting with the head of the Nigerian Bar Association, called on the U.K. and other western nations to increase efforts to prevent stolen funds from being deposited in western banks. She also recognized the U.S. has the best models to follow on anti-corruption efforts and wanted to take these steps for the EFCC. She also called for psychiatric tests for all public officials, maintaining that corruption is a "symptom of mental illness." At this same meeting, she reiterated her commitment to work hard to prosecute all corrupt state and local government officials, including investigating sitting governors for prosecution upon leaving office, but said the issue of looking at what they do while in office is also key. ¶7. (C) PARTNERS MEET ON EFCC CONCERNS: During a July 8 roundtable briefing for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Director General, with development and other diplomatic partners, Ambassador discussed USG concerns over the EFCC. Of note, she highlighted the importance of the EFCC's capacity building over personalities, concerns over the redeployment of the lead investigator in Governor Ibori's case, and the real need for visible, completed prosecution of high level cases. The UNODC Chief said Waziri committed to him that she will be vigorous on all these issues. ¶8. (C) REDEPLOYMENT, WORRYING SIGNS: Post contacts within the EFCC have confirmed that somewhere in the range of 40 to 60 officers were redeployed to the Nigerian Police Force (from which many of the EFCC's officers come) on Friday, July ¶4. Official press statements from the EFCC on July 6 deny the redeployment; however, Tukur Modibbo, International Liaison at the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit, confirmed to Poloff on July 7 that "at least 60 officers were affected," calling it a "blanket sweep" of the EFCC and former Chairman Ribadu's close associates. Former Chief of External Cooperation and current Chief of Procurement at the EFCC Ibrahim Mohammed (strictly protect) told Poloff on July 10 that at least 40 uniformed personnel were redeployed but that the number of non-uniformed personnel is hard to know because they are discretely handed letters of reassignment. Among the police persons redeployed was Bello Yahaya, the EFCC officer designated to handle cooperation with the London ABUJA 00001331 003 OF 003 Metropolitan Police (and former Delta Governor James Ibori's case in particular). Contacts at the UK High Commission confirmed Yahaya's redeployment to an as yet unspecified position at Police Headquarters and voiced frustration that bilateral cooperation in general, and Ibori's case in particular, will be significantly set back. In addition, in response to Ambassador's question to UNODC Chief on July 8 on this issue, he said that the EFCC boss in his meeting with Waziri explained the redeployments were needed as she found that case files were incomplete or missing and that there were constant leaks to the press which she believed these individuals were involved with. TOO EARLY TO ASSESS IMPACT, INTENTIONS -------------- ¶9. (C) Comment. Despite former EFCC Chairman Nuhu Ribadu's accomplishments in building the EFCC as an anti-graft institution, most agree that, particularly during Obasanjo's Presidency, decisions on which cases to pursue were largely political, with the then-President's enemies being the main targets. It is not yet clear whether what we are seeing now from Waziri is a well-intentioned attempt to rid the organization of the politicization which crept in under Ribadu, or simply an attempt to turn it again into a politicized institution to go after the new administration's perceived enemies, while turning a blind eye toward its friends. If the former, then the recent arrests and redeployment are positive steps toward bringing corrupt serving and former officials to justice, and building a robust institution based on the rule of law rather than political decision making. If the latter, than this is really worrying. The recent arrests would just be a shift from pursuing Obasanjo's enemies to pursuing his friends. The redeployments may be just an attempt to gut the institution's operational capacity, given the concerns that were raised over Waziri's close ties to some governors, political "godfathers" and others who were the subject of ongoing investigations in the EFCC (Refs. B, C). ¶10. (C) Comment continued. One month is too short a period to make a sound judgment on Waziri and her ultimate intentions. Yar'Adua and Waziri continue to talk the talk and certainly know the right things to say. The true test will be, however, whether they can walk the walk -- continue ongoing investigations, achieve high-level prosecutions, and take the initiative to go after well-known corrupt officials who continue to act with impunity. What will be important in the coming months is for the USG to continue our focus on building institutional capacity and transparency within the agency. In the past, our support was important in getting the EFCC off the ground; it is important that we continue to play a role in its development as a viable institution, challenge and monitor Waziri's activities, and forge ahead with our institution building programs such as our EFCC regular working groups and training activities. We need to be clear that our future engagement will be directly linked to concrete results, particularly if the EFCC shows progress toward locking up the most egregious offenders. We will continue to push Waziri and the EFCC in the right direction and publicly denounce any attempts to step away from the importance of a transparent EFCC as an anti-corruption institution. End Comment. SANDERS