By Tunde Johnson, Abuja
An anti-graft group has identified rivalry among anti-corruption agencies as a major threat to the fight against corruption.
The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL) said on Friday in Abuja that there should be a synergy the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Department of State Services
(DSS) to fast track the war.
Debo Adeniran, Executive Chairman of CACOL, while speaking with newsmen stressed that the anti-corruption war was a tough fight which required that agencies involved working hand-in-hand to achieve success.
“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 him, 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 Abdul -Rasheed Maina, the former Chairman of Pension Reform Task Force, 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.