What eminent Nigerians are saying about clash

When EFCC personnel stormed the Asokoro apartments of former DSS boss Ita Ekpeyong and ex DG of the NIA, Ayo Oke, in a bid to effect their arrests, they met a barricade of DSS and NIA personnel who made sure the arrests didnt happen.

Of course EFCC acting chairman Ibrahim Magu has warned that operatives of both agencies who got into a face-off with his menhave only postponed the evil day.

Magu vows that Ekpeyong and Oke will be arrested to answer for their alleged crimes, while emphasizing that no one is above the law.

What have eminent Nigerians been saying about the brawl?

Malachy Ugwummadu, Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR):

“The face-off between the two security agencies was dishonourable and unethical; such reprehensible conduct has consequences.

“We express worry over the overzealousness of the DSS officers and their less-than-average conduct as public officers. We call for appropriate sanctions to avoid a future occurrence.

“The repeated and clandestine approach where DSS officers mask themselves is also becoming very worrisome.

“We therefore call on the DG to tame the excesses and allow law enforcement agencies to carry out their functions without hindrance to avoid any further form of embarrassment that would send the wrong signal.”

Prof Itse Sagay, Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC):

“I think the EFCC should refer the matter to the President so that he can take action because the President is the overall boss and if people are misbehaving like that, preventing agencies from doing their work, then there should be a penalty for misconduct.

“We all know that the law empowers the EFCC to investigate, arrest and prosecute and they have the right to interrogate and invite you and if you refuse to come, they can arrest you. So, anybody, who refuses, that is engaging in lawlessness and is trying to turn the country into a chaotic state of lawlessness which is certainly not good for the country.

“No one is immune from arrest except the President, Vice-President, Governor and Deputy Governor.

“The DSS procedures do not supersede the laws of the land. The EFCC Act does not require the agency writing to anybody first. They cannot make a law that supersedes that of the National Assembly. The excuses of the DSS are just a way of covering up sheer lawlessness”.

Femi Falana, Human Rights Lawyer:

“It is wrong to view what occurred as an inter-agency face-off. Since warrants of arrest and search were validly issued by a Magistrate Court, the prevention of the arrest was a clash between impunity and rule of law.

“The security personnel who shielded the suspects from arrest committed the offence of obstruction of justice punishable under the EFCC Act.”

Former DSS DG, Mike Ejiofor:

"I don’t have a problem investigating anybody but due process must be followed. By the DSS Instrument 1 of 1999, no person or agency is empowered to investigate the spending or operational matter of the DSS except the President. It is only the President that can ask for investigation. The DSS makes returns of its spending to the President annually.

“I am surprised with what is happening. We have never had it before. He (Magu) has no power or mandate to investigate the spending of the DSS. It is not done anywhere in the world.

“If he had the power, he should have gone to the DG DSS. Possibly he wants to settle scores because he was indicted by the DSS report which barred his confirmation. It has never happened in the history of this nation before.”

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What do you make of the clash? Please kindly leave your views in the comments section below.

Editor's note: Quotes for this post were curated from Punch