The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL) has called for closer collaboration between the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and Department of State Services for effective fight against corruption.
Mr Debo Adeniran, Executive Chairman of CACOL, a civil society organisation, made the call in Lagos on Friday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
He said the anti-corruption war was a tough fight which required that agencies involved worked hand in hand to achieve success.
Adeniran, who said inter-agency rivalry was a threat to the fight against corruption, urged EFCC and DSS to work toward better synergy to win the war.
“The EFCC and DSS are very strategic to the fight against corruption, so they need to collaborate better to achieve the desired results.
“Nothing much will be achieved if the two important agencies are working at cross purposes or if they are enmeshed in unnecessary rivalry in the fight.
“They should work hand in hand and complement each other to bring looters to their knees,” he said.
According to the chairman, the role the DSS played during the confirmation saga of EFCC Chairman showed that there was a problem between the two agencies
He condemned the manner in which the former Chairman of Pension Reform Task Force, Mr Abdul -Rasheed Maina got into the country, despite being wanted by the EFCC.
“The DSS is more into intelligence gathering while the EFCC is more into investigation and prosecution of corrupt cases,” he said.
The chairman noted that if the two agencies were working together, the Maina-gate would have been averted.
“We believe that if they are really communicating, the kind of drama that happened in the case of Maina would not have happened,” he said.
He described the Maina’s saga as an `embarrassment’ to the nation, urging the government to follow the matter to its logical end.
The group commended President Muhammad Buhari for ordering the sack of the ex-Pension Task force chairman, saying Buhari’s intervention was a clear action against impunity.