Nuhu Ribadu
Encyclopedia
Mallam Nuhu Ribadu is a former Nigerian government anti-corruption official. He was the pioneer Executive Chairman of Nigeria
's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC), the government commission tasked with countering corruption and fraud. In April 2009, he became a visiting fellow at the Center for Global Development
.
He lived in exile until 2010 when he returned to Nigeria and declared his intention to run for President of Nigeria under the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). On Friday, 14th January, 2011, Nuhu Ribadu was adopted as the Presidential Candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).
in Zaria
, Kaduna State
from 1980 until 1983, receiving a Bachelor of Laws
degree. Following a year at the Nigerian Law School
, he was called to Bar in 1984. He also earned a Master of Laws
degree from the same university.
He is a TED
Fellow and currently a Senior Fellow in St. Antony's College, University of Oxford
, UK.
Th promotion on April 9, 2007, three weeks before newly elected President Umaru Yar'Adua was sworn-in, was later challenged on the basis that it was "illegal, unconstitutional, null and void, and of no legal effect."
In December 2007 Mike Okiro
, Inspector-General of Police, stated that Ribadu would be removed as EFCC chairman for a one-year training course.
that over 380 billion dollars had been stolen or wasted by Nigerian governments since independence in 1960.
Under Ribadu's administration, the EFCC charged prominent bankers, former as well as serving State governors, ministers
, Senate
presidents, high-ranking political party members, commissioners of Police, and advance fee fraud
("419") gang operators.
The EFCC issued thousands of indictments and achieved about 270 convictions. One notable case was that of his boss, the then Inspector-General of the Nigerian Police Force, Mr Tafa Balogun, who was convicted, jailed and made to return £150 million under a plea bargain.
Ribadu’s achievements in the EFCC included the de-listing of Nigeria from the FATF List of Non-Cooperative Countries & Territories, admission into the prestigious Egmont Group
and the withdrawal of the US Treasury FINCEN Advisory on Nigeria. They helped make the EFCC the foremost Anti-Corruption Enforcement Agency on the continent, cementing Ribadu's reputation in the world as a respected anti-corruption crusader.
Nuhu Ribadu's evidence helped prosecute foreign businesses who offered bribes while doing business in Nigeria.
Ribadu has however been accused of double standard and insincerity in his war against corruption. Many observed that Ribadu went after perceived enemies of his boss, Obasanjo, while shielding the friends of the former president. He has also been accused of corruption himself in that he failed to declare his assets for which he is undergoing prosecution at the code of conduct tribunal. Though his self imposed exile has stalled the prosecution at the code of conduct tribunal, the government of President Goodluck Jonathan has signified intention to withdraw the case against him. Ribadu was also said to have bought federal government property for his in-law. Notable among his critics is radical Lagos lawyer, Fetus Keyamo who has described the withdrawal of charges against Ribadu as totally wrong, very insensitive, entirely unwise and ill-advised . So far, none of the accusations of corruption have been substantiated. Several newspapers that have led in the criticism of Ribadu are owned by individuals who were accused of corruption charges.
In December 2007, Inspector-General of Police Mike Okiro ordered that Ribadu be temporarily removed from the position of EFCC chairman and ordered him to attend the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) in Kuru
, Jos
, Plateau State
for a mandatory one-year course. The decision was criticized by, among others, Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka
, House of Representatives members, and All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) national chairman Edwin Ume-Ezeoke as politically motivated and/or likely to set back the fight against corruption. On December 22, 2008, as widely predicted, he was dismissed from the Nigerian Police force by the Nigerian Police Service Commission (PSC). He left Nigeria and in April assumed a fellowship at the Center for Global Development
. He has since returned to join the ACN as a Presidential aspirant in the 2011 general elections.
's 2008 Jit Gill Memorial Award for Outstanding Public Service, for having led a courageous anti-corruption drive in Nigeria, as Head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
On August 4, 2008, the Police Service Commission in Nigeria announced the demotion of Mr. Ribadu from Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) to Deputy Commissioner of Police. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo had promoted Ribadu to AIG weeks before the end of his tenure in office in 2007.
On November 22, 2008, his graduation from the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) Kuru, Plateau State was aborted at the last minute. Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, who was initially seated in the hall along with other graduands, was ordered out of the hall allegedly on orders from top administration officials. There were condemnations from all over the world for his treatment.
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is a Nigerian law enforcement agency that investigates financial crimes such as advance fee fraud and money laundering...
(EFCC), the government commission tasked with countering corruption and fraud. In April 2009, he became a visiting fellow at the Center for Global Development
Center for Global Development
The Center for Global Development is a non-profit think tank based in Washington, D.C. that focuses on international development. It was founded in November 2001 by former senior U.S. official Edward W. Scott, director of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, C. Fred Bergsten, and...
.
He lived in exile until 2010 when he returned to Nigeria and declared his intention to run for President of Nigeria under the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). On Friday, 14th January, 2011, Nuhu Ribadu was adopted as the Presidential Candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).
Education
Ribadu studied law at Ahmadu Bello UniversityAhmadu Bello University
Ahmadu Bello University is the largest university in Nigeria and second largest in Africa, second only to Cairo University, Egypt. It is situated in Zaria. It was founded on October 4, 1962 as the University of Northern Nigeria....
in Zaria
Zaria
Zaria may refer to:*Zaria, a city in Kaduna State, Nigeria*Zaria , or Zoria, the Slavic goddess of beauty*Countess Zaria of Orange-Nassau, Jonkvrouwe van Amsberg, a member of the Dutch royal family...
, Kaduna State
Kaduna State
-History:The state is the successor to the old Northern Region of Nigeria, which had its capital at Kaduna. In 1967 this was split up into six states, one of which was the North-Central State, whose name was changed to Kaduna State in 1976. This was further divided in 1987, losing the area now part...
from 1980 until 1983, receiving a Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
degree. Following a year at the Nigerian Law School
Nigerian Law School
The Nigerian Law School was set up by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 1962 to provide a Nigerian legal education to foreign-trained lawyers, and to provide practical training for aspiring Legal Practitioners in Nigeria....
, he was called to Bar in 1984. He also earned a Master of Laws
Master of Laws
The Master of Laws is an advanced academic degree, pursued by those holding a professional law degree, and is commonly abbreviated LL.M. from its Latin name, Legum Magister. The University of Oxford names its taught masters of laws B.C.L...
degree from the same university.
He is a TED
TED (conference)
TED is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading"....
Fellow and currently a Senior Fellow in St. Antony's College, University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, UK.
Corruption and the EFCC
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed him to the chairmanship of the EFCC in 2003 and reappointed him in 2007, as well as promoting him to the position of Assistant Inspector General of Police.Th promotion on April 9, 2007, three weeks before newly elected President Umaru Yar'Adua was sworn-in, was later challenged on the basis that it was "illegal, unconstitutional, null and void, and of no legal effect."
In December 2007 Mike Okiro
Mike Mbama Okiro
Sir Mike Mbama Okiro was the Inspector General of the Nigeria Police Force from 2007 - 2009.-Background:Mike Okiro was born on July 24, 1949 in Oguta, Imo State...
, Inspector-General of Police, stated that Ribadu would be removed as EFCC chairman for a one-year training course.
Career in law enforcement
On October 20, 2006, Nuhu Ribadu told the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
that over 380 billion dollars had been stolen or wasted by Nigerian governments since independence in 1960.
Under Ribadu's administration, the EFCC charged prominent bankers, former as well as serving State governors, ministers
Minister (government)
A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet....
, Senate
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a legislature or parliament. There have been many such bodies in history, since senate means the assembly of the eldest and wiser members of the society and ruling class...
presidents, high-ranking political party members, commissioners of Police, and advance fee fraud
Advance fee fraud
An advance-fee fraud is a confidence trick in which the target is persuaded to advance sums of money in the hope of realizing a significantly larger gain...
("419") gang operators.
The EFCC issued thousands of indictments and achieved about 270 convictions. One notable case was that of his boss, the then Inspector-General of the Nigerian Police Force, Mr Tafa Balogun, who was convicted, jailed and made to return £150 million under a plea bargain.
Ribadu’s achievements in the EFCC included the de-listing of Nigeria from the FATF List of Non-Cooperative Countries & Territories, admission into the prestigious Egmont Group
Egmont Group
The Egmont Group is a media corporation founded and rooted in Copenhagen, Denmark. The business area of Egmont has traditionally been magazine publishing but has over the years evolved to comprise media generally....
and the withdrawal of the US Treasury FINCEN Advisory on Nigeria. They helped make the EFCC the foremost Anti-Corruption Enforcement Agency on the continent, cementing Ribadu's reputation in the world as a respected anti-corruption crusader.
Nuhu Ribadu's evidence helped prosecute foreign businesses who offered bribes while doing business in Nigeria.
Ribadu has however been accused of double standard and insincerity in his war against corruption. Many observed that Ribadu went after perceived enemies of his boss, Obasanjo, while shielding the friends of the former president. He has also been accused of corruption himself in that he failed to declare his assets for which he is undergoing prosecution at the code of conduct tribunal. Though his self imposed exile has stalled the prosecution at the code of conduct tribunal, the government of President Goodluck Jonathan has signified intention to withdraw the case against him. Ribadu was also said to have bought federal government property for his in-law. Notable among his critics is radical Lagos lawyer, Fetus Keyamo who has described the withdrawal of charges against Ribadu as totally wrong, very insensitive, entirely unwise and ill-advised . So far, none of the accusations of corruption have been substantiated. Several newspapers that have led in the criticism of Ribadu are owned by individuals who were accused of corruption charges.
Bribery and persecution
During the course of his duty Mr Ribadu was offered bribes to pervert the course of justice, amongst these was a State governor who offered Mr Ribadu of $15 million and a house abroad. Interviewed from Washington D.C. on the BBC's Hardtalk programme, Ribadu said that he took the money and used the bribe as evidence to prosecute the state governor. This claim has however been refuted by the ex-governor who noted that the fact the Ribadu put the money in the CBN is not a proof that he gave the money. Mr Ribadu escaped two assassination attempts in Nigeria before he left the country for the United Kingdom in early 2009.In December 2007, Inspector-General of Police Mike Okiro ordered that Ribadu be temporarily removed from the position of EFCC chairman and ordered him to attend the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) in Kuru
Kuru, Nigeria
Kuru is located on the Jos Plateau in north-central Nigeria commonly referred as the middle belt region of Nigeria. Located about 20 km to Jos on the Jos-Abuja highway in Plateau State...
, Jos
Jos
Jos is a city in the Middle Belt of Nigeria.The city has a population of about 1.5 million residents. Popularly called "J-town" or "Jesus Our Saviour" by the residents, it is the administrative capital of Plateau State....
, Plateau State
Plateau State
Plateau State is the twelfth largest state of Nigeria, and is roughly located in the center of the country. It is geographically unique in Nigeria because its boundaries totally surround the Jos Plateau, having the Jos Plateau totally in its central and northern part...
for a mandatory one-year course. The decision was criticized by, among others, Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka
Wole Soyinka
Akinwande Oluwole "Wole" Soyinka is a Nigerian writer, poet and playwright. He was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature, where he was recognised as a man "who in a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones fashions the drama of existence", and became the first African in Africa and...
, House of Representatives members, and All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) national chairman Edwin Ume-Ezeoke as politically motivated and/or likely to set back the fight against corruption. On December 22, 2008, as widely predicted, he was dismissed from the Nigerian Police force by the Nigerian Police Service Commission (PSC). He left Nigeria and in April assumed a fellowship at the Center for Global Development
Center for Global Development
The Center for Global Development is a non-profit think tank based in Washington, D.C. that focuses on international development. It was founded in November 2001 by former senior U.S. official Edward W. Scott, director of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, C. Fred Bergsten, and...
. He has since returned to join the ACN as a Presidential aspirant in the 2011 general elections.
International Awards
On April 15, 2008, Nuhu Ribadu received the World BankWorld Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
's 2008 Jit Gill Memorial Award for Outstanding Public Service, for having led a courageous anti-corruption drive in Nigeria, as Head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
On August 4, 2008, the Police Service Commission in Nigeria announced the demotion of Mr. Ribadu from Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) to Deputy Commissioner of Police. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo had promoted Ribadu to AIG weeks before the end of his tenure in office in 2007.
On November 22, 2008, his graduation from the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) Kuru, Plateau State was aborted at the last minute. Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, who was initially seated in the hall along with other graduands, was ordered out of the hall allegedly on orders from top administration officials. There were condemnations from all over the world for his treatment.