The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission wasted hundreds of millions of naira prosecuting the pardoned former governors of Plateau State, Senator Joshua Dariye; and Taraba State, Rev Jolly Nyame, according to reports.

Several EFCC operatives, some of whom were involved in the handling of the two cases, told Punch that huge sums of money were spent on investigation and prosecution between 2007 and 2018.

Dariye’s case in particular was said to have cost a lot more as it emanated from London and the star witness, Peter Clark, who was a policeman, had to be flown from the United Kingdom on several occasions and lodged in hotels while the case dragged on.

Recall that the National Council of State had on Thursday endorsed the pardon of Dariye, Nyame and 157 other convicts following the recommendation of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy. The 12-member committee, inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari, in 2018 is headed by the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami.

Dariye and Nyame were jailed for stealing N1.16bn and N1.6bn, respectively.

An EFCC operative, who wished to remain anonymous because he was not authorised to speak to the press, told one of our correspondents that the detective who handled Dariye’s case, Ilyasu Kwarbai, was hit in the head with the butt of the gun by overzealous supporters of the ex-governor when the case was being handled in Jos.

The operative said, “The pardon for Dariye is demoralising. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) was the one who handled the case. He has an internal arrangement with the EFCC so his fee is not that much. However, the bulk of the money was spent on investigation. The case started from London. We had to fly there and lodge in hotels.

“Also, Peter Clark, a UK officer, was the star witness. He was the one who first arrested Dariye in 2004. We had to fly him here on several occasions to testify in Nigeria. Sometimes, when he arrived in Nigeria, the case would be adjourned for one flimsy reason or the other and he would have to travel back and then return to Nigeria.

“Clark was the one who revealed how Dariye bought a pen for £7,000 and was found with over £40,000, while his aide had about £50,000 on her. We spent hundreds of millions on this case. Kwarbai was attacked. The scar is still on his head. How will the UK take us seriously?”

Also speaking, Jacobs, who prosecuted both cases on behalf of the EFCC, said he was disappointed in the decision of the Buhari regime.

Jacobs said the message being conveyed was that prison was only for the poor, noting that this would embolden the younger generation to embrace fraud. He added that the pardon meant that both Dariye and Nyame could later run for elective offices.

He added, “This pardon means that they can hold offices and run for elections. It has turned the anti-corruption war into a joke. It is a setback against the fight against corruption. They are setting a bad example for the younger generation. This case went from the High Court to the Supreme Court and now the convicts are being pardoned.

“It will demoralise the judges, the investigators and the prosecutors. It sends a bad message to the youth and Nigerians as a whole.”

Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, said he was at a loss for words.

“All I can say is that it is finished. It is finished,” he added with dismay.

Human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), said that the war against corruption had officially come to an end and jokingly asked the Federal Government to release all guilty persons from prisons.

Falana said, “They are pardoning themselves now. The same man, who said he came to fight corruption, has been granting pardon to people who were convicted for stealing billions of naira. My reaction is that all criminals and petty thieves should be released since Section 17 of the Constitution says there shall be equal right for all citizens and Section 42 says there shall be no discrimination on the basis of class, gender or whatever.”

Speaking earlier in Lagos on Friday at the first memorial lecture and book presentation in honour of the late activist, Mr Yinka Odumakin, Falana stated, “The rulers are interested in continuity – continuity of injustice and corruption. A Nigerian was jailed for stealing noodles in Abuja, he was not granted state pardon. If you want to pardon your friends, you must extend that pardon to other people in the spirit of equity and fairness.”

Pro-transparency group, Transparency International, which has consistently ranked Nigeria low despite the anti-corruption war of the Buhari regime, said it had become obvious that the President’s anti-graft war was a scam.

Auwal Rafsanjani, the Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, which is Nigeria’s chapter of the TI, said the Buhari regime had lost the moral right to continue the anti-corruption war. He said it was obvious that the pardon of the two ex-governors was connected to the 2023 elections.

He added, “The Buhari regime has shown that the fight against corruption is simply deceptive, a mere show, a means to settle political scores and pardon those in its camp. It has rubbished the work of the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission. You need to know how much was spent on the trial of these gentlemen. Why did the government waste taxpayers’ money if they knew this was what they wanted to do?

“We are not surprised that as 2023 is coming, these two ex-governors, who are popular in their states, are being pardoned so that the ruling party can use them to win elections in their states. There are thousands of Nigerians languishing in various correctional centres. Why are they not being forgiven? Why is it that people who looted and impoverished the people are being pardoned?”