Column
By Perry Brimah
I think I should write this piece before EFCC’s Magu locks me up for possession of a quality wrist watch and traveling with my laptop.
Nigeria is now a nation of raids. Everyday you will hear EFCC raids, SSS raids, Police raids, SARS raids, Boko Haram raids, Fulani terrorists raid, Terror bandits raid, Army raids, even Customs raids. Raid, raid, raid, everyday.
And while all these raids happen, there is none where the real killers and thieves are being captured. It is journalists, freedom fighters, government critics, minority tribes and religious groups and jobless youth, that are the victims of the raid rage.
While Nigeria faces some of the worsts levels of pervasive government corruption in the world, cases of government official and cabal corruption escape the raids. There is yet to be a single sentencing of cabal involved in criminality. The millions found in Ayodele Oke’s house is missing as is the case against him and his wife, the suspects.
Babachir Lawal still walks free four years after he was sacked for allegedly stealing millions from poor and dying internally displaced persons, IDP victims of Boko Haram.
We are yet to know the owner of the N49 million found in Kaduna airport.
With all the raids we are yet to know how the tonnes of dates donated by Saudi Arabia for Nigeria’s poor was allegedly looted and sold in markets under the regime of now minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Sadiya Umar Farouq. And while we are on it, whatever happened to the case of Farouq Lawan and Otedola? No raid there?
Rather, all the raids are focused on Nigeria’s less privileged youth. When the United States, US, arrested some suspect fraudsters, Nigeria’s seemingly jobless EFCC rushed to arrest named suspects in Nigeria, faster than the US had. Without even investigating the list from the US, Nigeria arrested its people in a hurry.
Entire clubs are raided without prior investigation because suspected fraudsters party there. First comes the raid then comes the investigation if any. There is no law enforcement agency in the world that operates this way.
Instagram phenomenon Mompha was arrested for wires and “possession of five wristwatches.” Is anybody’s wristwatch missing? How do you arrest someone for having a few cheap wristwatches? Did Magu lose his watch? I mean, seriously? Five watches for N20 million or $55,000. Is that EFCC’s business? Have they ever checked the price of wristwatches on the hands of the Dauras? Nawaoh! In Nigeria it is a crime not to be a cabal and almighty All Progressives Congress, APC, fanatic.
Momphu is a FOREX trader who sells common Nigerians FOREX while the CBN only sells to the cabal at secret subsidized rates, transferring wealth in millions of dollars to the “owners of Nigeria” as Emir Sanusi lamented. [See: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/fg-creating-billionaires-through-forex-sanusi.html] Reuters detailed that $100 million was gifted to Dangote, a single cabal in just 1 week via CBN’s secret FOREX subsidy scam which continues to fill the pockets of billionaires every day till date. [Read here: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nigeria-forex-dangote-insight/africas-richest-man-got-a-fistful-of-dollars-in-nigerian-currency-squeeze-idUSKCN0Z90G5] But it is not Emefiele or Dangote, it is Mompha, Magu embarrasses for owning a few cheap watches – no crime under Nigeria’s laws!
The EFCC has refused to investigate Kano governor Gandollar seen clearly by the world stuffing hundreds of thousands of dollars in his agbada pocket and Magu said he will not investigate, but he knows how to persecute our youth? While Magu raids our clubs and boys carrying laptops, has he raided his own EFCC for allegedly turning N900 million into newspapers in Ibadan?
I am not standing in for internet fraudsters but what’s wrong Magu’s time? The EFCC is stretched thin as are other Nigerian forces, persecuting children when the real cabal and killers roam free. Is the force investigating the funding sources to Boko Haram and the capital flow of kidnappers and terrorists?
There should be a state of emergency across the nation on security. All our security services should be deployed to capture the rampaging and raiding kidnappers and terrorists but rather our SSS, EFCC, Customs and what not are busy raiding boys and girls. Yeah, girls too who they raid and rape as happens in Abuja clubs.
Perhaps our security services are uninterested in raiding fellow raiders, the Boko Haram and Fulani terrorists. Partners in raiding the innocent. Or perhaps the raids of our youth and activists is a necessary distraction to pretend to be busy while avoiding the more urgent insecurity crises plaguing the nation.
I suggest we rebrand Nigeria, Raideria.
Dr. Issa Perry Brimah, @EveryNigerian
– Oct 23, 2019 @ 19:35 GMT |
Tags: Did Magu Lose His Wristwatch? Before EFCC Locks Me Up For My Wristwatch and Laptop
