Why did Farida Waziri Former EFCC Chairman go on Exile after her sack ?

Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati a day after her removal  disclosed that “is was  part of President Jonathan’s determination to revitalise the fight against corruption”.
Government sources said the EFCC has suffered a reputation damage on account of Mrs Waziri’s headship of the agency.
The perception problem reportedly sparked doubts about the character and capacity of the agency’s leadership.
Mrs Waziri’s alleged poor handling of the Ibori case and the failure of the EFCC to challenge Ibori’s acquittal by the High Court in Asaba are also among the reasons for her removal.

April 2012: I went on exile after leaving office -Farida Waziri

THE immediate past chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mrs Farida Waziri, on Tuesday, in Abuja, disclosed the reason behind her travelling outside the country immediately she was relieved of her position.

Waziri, who spoke when she appeared before the Senate joint Committee on Establishment and Public Service, States and Local Government Affairs, which is investigating pension funds administration in the country, informed that she left the country when there was threat to her life soon after she was sacked from her job.

Based on this she explained that she could not honour the first invitation by the committee, saying “I was not in the country when I was first invited. I will like to let you know why I hurriedly left the country.”

She opened up that “when I was removed from office, I had threat and I wrote to the Secretary to the Government of Federation (SGF) for my protection and I copied the former Inspector General of Police, Hafiz Ringim, but to my shock, he wrote in black and white that my security should be withdrawn immediately. He is a friend and I was shocked, because of the threat coming in as my security [detail] were all removed and I was left bare. I had to leave my home and my husband felt I should leave the country and I left.”

On the pension fund which the EFCC investigated when she was the chairman, Waziri disclosed that what was discovered was monumental, adding “I was shocked, because I never would have believed that civil servants could do this to each other. Because one day, they are going to be also pensioners and these are their brothers and kin and the money meant for them, they carted them away.

“I had occasion to go for verification in Lagos and I wept there, because people came; some came with their blanket and they were there for months. Some were dying, as they didn’t have bank accounts and people capitalised on that and in the end what was given was pittance.”

She gave example of some people who were found with illegal money, saying “there was this pretty lady and the money that was found in her accounts were mind-boggling. She opened account in the name of her mothers, among others. It was just monumental. I called her and I looked at her and said you are a mother, how could you be party to this? She answered that she was used by some men and I said that was not an excuse.”

According to her, the recoveries were monumental, as we recovered money daily in some of the accounts. They put money there and forgot and the fraud went on for a long time in the pension office.”

She explained that some banks collaborated with them in perpetrating the fraud, believing that banks were not helping the country. “They want funds at all costs, whether they are from dead bodies, they do not care, as long as the money is in their accounts. Without the banks’ collusion, they could not have stolen these billions. It is the banks that are assisting and they knew it.”

The former anti-graft boss informed that “before I retired, there was a matter. A bank was sold to another bank and they were trying to steal money and one of our operatives discovered how they transferred N350 million and N200 million into one of their accounts in Abuja branch. When we discovered this, within 30 minutes it was withdrawn.

“Even loans, I have a case of N40 billion. In this country with high poverty level, one man borrowed N40 billion that he was going to sell diesel and come back and pay. He went and sold and bought choice properties in Dubai without collaterals.”

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