SENATE PANEL DECRIES HEAVY POLICE PRESENCE AT EFCC

THE Chairman of the Senate’s Committee on Drugs, Narcotics and Financial Crimes, Victor Rampyal Lar, who represents Plateau South, Thursday warned against the large number of policemen in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
According to him, 700 of about 1,250 members of staff at the EFCC are policemen.
He said: “What that also means is that as it is now, the policemen take their pay from the Police Force and also take allowances from the EFCC.” This, he noted, is against the law.
They, according to him, have blocked or stagnated graduates that were trained and employed as cadets for the commission because right now, all the heads of departments at EFCC are policemen. This, he noted, has affected the cadets’ promotions and opportunities.
The senator, who is also the Vice Chairman of Special Duties Committee, said it was unfortunate that the seconded policemen had hampered the career growth of trained detectives who were genuinely employed by the commission.
Lar, who is also a member of the Senate Committee on Power, added: “This state of affair has dampened even the enthusiasm of the international donor agencies because it is like funding another agency. The EFCC detectives can perform much of the work, which the policemen are saddled with at the commission.
“There is no law that says it must be the police. Section 4 of the Police Act says that they are empowered to arrest, investigate and prosecute. You can have a few of them for the purpose of arrest, but to have 700 of them is definitely unacceptable.”
Source: Guardian