Soyinka condemns EFCC’s detention of former power minister, Agunloye
The Nobel laureate and renowned writer, Prof Wole Soyinka, has expressed his outrage at the way the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is handling the case of Dr. Olu Agunloye, a former Minister of Power and Steel.
Dr. Agunloye, who served under President Olusegun Obasanjo, was declared wanted by the EFCC last week over his role in the $6 billion Mambilla hydropower contract. He was earlier questioned by the agency in September on the same issue.
He voluntarily appeared at the EFCC offices in Abuja on December 10, after attending the funeral of Mr Soyinka’s sister on December 8. He was promptly arrested and detained by the anti-graft agency.
In a statement titled, “In pursuit of justice, productivity, under the rule of law,’’ Soyinka questioned the fundamental human rights in the EFCC’s action.
He said, “The practice of citizen detention at the whim of either religious blackmail or secular arrogation demands curtailment at source, most especially when exercised in defiance of the law, and the pronouncements of its agencies. Anything less goes to remind us that anarchy remains a choice for citizen recourse, with unpredictable consequences.
“The immediate provocation for these reflections is ongoing predicament of a former Minister of Power, Dr. Olu Agunloye, currently detained by the EFCC, in total contempt of sense and justice, or indeed, basic humane considerations. We shall not go into the merit or demerits of the charges raised against him over a 16-year-old project that bears the name Mambilla. –that is the business of the law courts. Our concern at this moment is however only partially on the basis of individual fundamental human rights. Most fortuitously, the detention of any former public servant under circumstances such as Agunloye also provokes the question: how is public interest – such as the pursuit of justice – served by such an arbitrary exercise of power?
He also criticised the EFCC for resorting to “trial or smear by media” of the most sensationalist kind, saying it was unworthy and reprehensible.
He said, “The resort to ‘trial or smear by media’ of the most sensationalist kind, launched against the person of Dr. Olu Agunloye is unworthy and reprehensible. Most critically – and I want both governance and citizenry to understand this – it is counterproductive. It inhibits genuine inclination by proficient citizens for public service. That is a lamentable obstacle on the way to any nation’s development.”
Soyinka said he had intervened in the high-handed and illegal conduct of the EFCC several times in the past, even when he supported its mission of fighting corruption. He said he had facilitated the collaboration between the EFCC and a civic organisation he was involved in, and also brought President Kagame of Rwanda to Nigeria to lecture on how he tackled corruption in his country.
He said he was not interested in the merits or demerits of the charges against Dr. Agunloye, but rather in the issues of national interest and citizen rights that his case raised.
He said the Mambilla project, which had been a failure for nearly two decades, was an opportunity for the nation to address the question of sustainable power supply and private creative input. He said the project was also linked to the murder of Bola Ige, another former minister of power under President Obasanjo, and a monumental act of sabotage that involved the loss of some engineers.
He said the nation deserved to know the truth about the Mambilla project and the murder of Bola Ige, and called for a non-partisan commission that would sit in public and take evidence from all parties involved.
He said, “Let this be understood. The murder of Bola Ige, plus a monumental act of sabotage that took place under Ige’s watch, involving the loss of some engineers, was linked to massive corruption that underlay the Mambilla collapse. It is time to end the deception, the cynical cover-ups, the blame passing, the diversionary utterances, and the now open admission of corporate corruption with high reaches of power. We are calling for a non-partisan commission that will sit in public, take evidence, ask questions, and cross-examine witnesses over even one year if necessary. After all, this massive failure has gone on for nearly two decades. We can spare one more year, surely to lay bare the ugly face of truth, then let the public do what it will with the revelations.”
He said the EFCC should either release Dr. Agunloye or arrest and detain all those who were directly or indirectly implicated in the Mambilla scam.
He added, “Wanted? Just what is that? Olu Agunloye has pursued his movements openly to the extent of being present and photographed at my sister’s funeral on December 8. He did not appear in disguise, did not sneak in and out. He functioned as any normal human being at an event at which the press was present. Less than thirty-six hours later, he was declared wanted.
“Nonetheless, Agunloye, as a dutiful citizen, issued a statement on his visibility and ready compliance. He promised to show up at the EFCC offices in Abuja the following day. He appeared, and was promptly arrested and detained. The information I have been able to obtain during the past two days of my return to the country is that the head of the EFCC declared that he would release him only on the instructions of the President of the nation.
“True or false? I am not in the game of “He said, I said.” What matters is the murky exercise of power. I have had cause to intervene before this, all the way from Are, through Ribadu and Magu, that last until he stopped taking my calls. The present however transcends all other interventions, as it involves certain issues of national interest, in tandem with the evident issues of fundamental citizen rights.
“In the meantime, the EFCC should release all its prisoners or, in the alternative, equally arrest and detain all those involved in this mammoth scam that has deprived the “Giant of Africa” the basic survival facility for a twenty-first-century society. One chicken in the coop is a travesty of justice and a deplorable lack of nerve. Release Agunloye, or detain all those directly or indirectly implicated in that fiasco. The preening and posturing of EFCC has served its purpose, it is time to now divert it to a productive end – bringing closure on the one hand, and also opening up new channels of productive fulfillment for a stressed and distressed nation.
He said the cycle of self-deception had gone on far enough, and urged the two legislative chambers to take the bull by the horns and end the charade.
