OLUCHI UCHE, ABUJA FEMALE LAWYER NARRATES HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE AT EFCC HEADQUARTERS

So I went to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Headquarters in Abuja today to see a client and something happened that I desire to share with you all.

If you are very familiar with visiting any of the Nigerian Security Agencies, you will know that it’s their internal basic law that phones are not allowed inside the premises, though EFCC extended their policy to include bags, smart watches, laptops, etc. The moment you get to the security post having any of those items in your possession, you will be required to drop them off with the security before the visitor's tag will be issued to you. 

MY EXPERIENCE 

Now the event that unfolded that amused me today went thus: 

Upon my arrival with my colleague, we realized that we had left an important document in the office, my colleague and I agreed that he should drive back to the office and get the file while I proceed to see our client inside as the time for the interview was already close. My colleague was to join me inside when he gets back.

MY RESOLUTION TO LEAVE MY PHONES & HANDBAG INSIDE THE CAR.

I decided to leave my phones and handbag inside the car that my colleague drove back to the office and disembarked with the case file, a pen, and my original driver's license as a means of identification should the need ever arise.

Upon my arrival at the security access point, I was cleared, my details taken down and my Face ID captured but then, they requested that I drop my phone before the visitor's tag will be issued to me.  I respectfully told them that I do not have any phone nor handbag with me and they became agitated and insisted that if I don’t drop my phone, I will not be issued with a tag and I will not be allowed access. I couldn't help but laughed out loud, I was like really?

Like joke, I stood there for a while and thereafter I said to them: “wait a minute, your law says no phones or bags allowed inside the premises and I have come to you without any of those items and yet you are insisting that I should have come with them, I thereafter added that if you all will be honest, you will agree with me that you are contradicting yourselves with your own laws”.

They replied and said “You must go back and bring your phone and submit it or we won’t give me a tag and you will not be allowed inside the building”. I then remembered that I had a driver's license with me, I gave it to them and said hold this in place of my phone since I genuinely do not have any of those items with me. Sarcastically, one of them that introduced himself to be the head of the unit said, the drivers license might be fake because people do fake things things these days and we cannot take a driver's license and give you our tag in place of a phone. I ask them, please what exactly is the reason why you insist on people coming to the EFCC with their items that they will not be allowed to go in with? What about people who genuinely do not have a phone, so you will not give such a person access to public office? The head of the unit replied, “that one no concern us, the person must go and bring phone because people use to go away with our visitor's tag because they did not drop any valuable item with us, that is why we insist on phones “.

I ask, so what is the job of the security if people are walking away with your tags, are the security men not supposed to ask people to drop their tags before exiting the gate, perhaps the people are rushing and genuinely forget to drop the tag as you claimed, and he replied “I have said my own, no phone, no card, you cannot tell me what to do”.

 Uncle, I was not telling you what to do, it is your office and I cannot dictate to you in your territory sir. I am merely reminding you that your internal regulation is contradictory and the need to review it. Suddenly uncle said, “even SAN use to drop their phone”. That was when I knew that I was on my own oooo. 

I quietly waited for my colleague to come back and I carried my whole hand bag and told them oya uncle carry the whole bag keep it and give me tag let me go inside. This was after spending over an hour on my feet. 

CONCLUSION

On a lighter note, you know say anybody wey hold small position for Nigeria no dey allow any person to talk to them back, but na respectfully na him small pikin dey add for statement before he insult an elder. Na so I take dey drop am for them small small but Iam sure I was able to make a statement today regardless.

MY ADVICE

If you are a lawyer, please ensure to go with your phone(s) to guard against wasting your time unnecessarily at the detriment of your client and if you are a client invited, do well to arm yourself with your phones too.

Above all, I think the EFCC authority should really look into this and take a firm stand on it and decide if visitors should come with phones or not and where they said we should come with them, are we going to be allowed to go inside with them? What exactly is the rationale behind insisting that citizens come with their properties and then hand them over. If you ask me, the math doesn’t add up. 

Rather I will advice that the people paid to do a job of safe guarding the tags should rather sit up and ensure that no one leaves the premises with Government property.

Nigeria we can do better. I am not giving up on you.

Thank you.