HURIWA threatens action over alleged arrest of EFCC official after leaked conversation

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has called for the immediate release of an operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mohammed Idris, who was allegedly detained after a conversation with a suspect’s brother leaked.

HURIWA alleged that an online medium had reported that the EFCC operative was arrested and locked up shortly after a leaked conversation he had with the younger brother of a crime suspect went viral on social media.

The rights group said the alleged detained officer had exposed how Attorney-General of Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, allegedly uses his position and influence to order the unfreezing of ‘big cases’ bank accounts.

Reacting to the allegations, the rights group, in a statement on Wednesday, described the development as worrisome and unfortunate, stating that “large-scale corruption and lawlessness have virtually crippled the National economy of Nigeria”.

According to HURIWA, it seems President Muhammadu Buhari is unaware of many things including grand scale corruption happening right under his nose by his cabinet appointees and Directors General of federal agencies including the anti-graft agency.

HURIWA recalled that on December 21, 2021, it was reported how in the leaked audio conversation with one Abdulbari Yusuf, a younger brother to a retired Rear Admiral and former Director of Navy Accounts, Tahir Yusuf, who was facing charges of corruption, Idris accused Malami of compromising cases of corruption Nigeria.

The group further recalled that the detained EFCC operative, while giving Yusuf’s brother hints on how to defeat the anti-graft commission at the Court of Appeal as well as ways to evacuate money from a particular account, said, “If he has money in any account linked with his BVN (Bank Verification Number), he should quickly evacuate them. And if he makes transfers, EFCC will still trace it. He should only withdraw and then deposit into another account.”

Against the backdrop of the reported detention of the in-house whistle-blower, HURIWA called on President Buhari to rescue his rapidly failing anti-graft crusade by releasing the detained staff member of EFCC.

HURIWA argued that rather than detain the EFCC operative, the Federal Government should have discreetly investigated his expose and “mind-blowing revelation about the parlous and morally deficient State of the EFCC”.

“President Muhammadu Buhari must free this whistle-blower or we draw the inevitable conclusion that Buhari’s waning war on corruption has eventually collapsed in every big way and this will rub off on whatever legacies that the outgoing President thinks he wants to bequeath to Nigeria”, HURIWA added.