Ribadu: Why Charges Against Me Were Dropped

UJOM-AMAKA ANYIBUOFU

Former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ridabu, said yesterday that the charges against him were dropped by the Federal Government because the foundation of the case was built on falsehood.
Ribadu also said the anti-corruption agency, EFCC, had lost credibility as the international community has refused to do business with it.

Speaking on a British Broad-casting Corporation (BBC) programme “Hardtalk”, monitored in Abuja, the former anti-corruption czar also said he would jump at any opportunity given him to serve his fatherland again.
Ribadu said the withdrawal of charges against him by the Attorney-General of the Federation was occasioned by his discovery of the asset declaration forms he filled on assumption of office which was in the custody of the Code of Conduct Bureau but instead of admitting it, he was instead unjustly persecuted.

He described the entire episode as an abuse of the system and an abuse of a constitutional body and noted that in saner societies such a person (his persecutor) ought to be brought to justice.
“What really happened was that there was a change, a new attorney-general got in and then he saw the forms that I declared. It is extremely ridiculous. The forms are right there before him and you take an innocent person to court, abuse the whole system, abuse the institution abuse a constitutional body.

“You have the forms with you and you still go ahead and take that innocent person. I think in some other places that person, who did that ought to have been brought to justice”, he said.
On whether he had received any offer from President Goodluck Jonathan and his plans to return home, Ribadu denied receiving any offer but maintained that Nigerians including himself must not waste any moment in contributing their quota to national development at this critical time in the nation’s history.