About one month ago, Nigeria’s frontline anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes

Victor Ogene

Commission (EFCC), had cause to express worry over the activities of individuals and organised syndicates who not only impersonate the commission’s officials, but also routinely dropped the name of its chief executive officer, Mrs Farida Waziri, claiming to be close to her and so can influence her decisions when it comes to letting criminals in the EFCC’s snarl off the hook. Indeed, so alarmed was the Commission over the issue that its spokesman, Femi Babafemi, had cause late last month to issue a public notice disclaiming anyone who makes any claim for financial gratification on behalf of the EFCC boss or any of its operatives. Although the commission refused to name persons who it suspected of involvement in this dangerous game which was capable of undermining its authority, The Source decided to unmask the syndicate behind the frivolous claims.
Our findings, published in the October 27, 2008 edition of the magazine with the cover caption, “Fake EFCC Syndicate on the Loose… Extort Nmillions from Govs; others (and) Top PDP Linksman Fingered,” indicated that while the small fries in the illicit act concentrated on writing letters to suspecting individuals with fake EFCC letter-head, inviting such would-be victims for interrogation, only to hijack them at the commission’s gates and take them to other locations for the purpose of extorting money from them, the big-time players resort to confidence tricks to make several top guns, especially ex-governors part with huge sums of money in order to stave off criminal investigation. In assembling materials for that story, one name kept resonating from different sources: Terry Waya, a socialite whose ways and means remain as hazy as his personality. Despite ceaseless entreaties by agents of Waya, we still ran the story, thus we were not surprised when we received a formal letter of complaint and threat to sue barely two days after the edition hit the newsstands. What was confounding, however, is that the letter emanated from Festus Keyamo Chambers, an outfit on retainership as prosecutors for the EFCC. Could Keyamo have been running with the hare and hunting with the hound?
Well, last week, part of that question was answered by the anti-graft agency itself when it hauled in Waya for investigation. Twenty-four hours later when he was let off the EFCC’s hook on “administrative bail,” men of the State Security Service (SSS), promptly seized him, indicative of the fact that Waya sure has an issue or two to sort out with the security apparatus.
This week, therefore, we return to the story of the man who Keyamo fondly calls “a responsible Nigerian Ambassador abroad,” despite a welter of evidence to the contrary. The story, this time, was written by Tony Egbulefu, head of our Abuja bureau.