The Commission should investigate fraud allegations over its recent car auctions.

Any story of fraud or suggestion of fraud regarding the body designated as the anti-corruption czar, upends the raison d’etre of such an organisation and puts in peril the fabric of moral values in the society.

That is a problem plaguing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over recent car auctions and their integrity. The auctions that took place between January 20 and 27 have now been enmeshed in controversies ranging from technical hitches perceived as technical manipulation, surreptitious switching of bids and outright ouster of participation of some citizen bidders.

Naturally, the aggrieved persons have thrown the charges at the front door of the EFCC and accused it of lack of good faith. Involved were 891 forfeited cars and they were open to bids.

It was supposed to be an avenue for Nigerians to buy good cars at low prices in a time that inflation and a strained economy had made such auctions welcome to many.

Some of the stories baffle. For instance, a bid of N5,570,001 on a Mercedes-Benz C300 was the highest, significantly topping the closest bid of N2.7 million. The win turned into a dud as the vehicle became invisible on the auction website. When it reappeared, the bid timestamp was changed and so did the original bid time. His original bid time back-flapped from 4pm with the website now reading 11 am. A new highest bid suddenly popped up for N5,590,001, about N20,000 higher. And the timestamp showed 12 pm. A huge poser of fairness beclouded that bid. In some cases, some bids that were lower beat higher bids.

The commission stayed away from the process but the body is in the centre of the storm. The commission’s decision not to directly intervene may now be its undoing because it had assigned the process to duly accredited and licensed auctioneers in line with provisions of Sections 4(a)(b) of the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act, 2022 and Section 55 of the Public Procurement Act, 2007.

While welcoming the decision of the EFCC to investigate the allegations, National President of Auctioneers Association of Nigeria, Aliyu Kiliya, said the probe would help sanitize the system and restore public confidence.

The EFCC requested our backend so that they would watch and monitor what was happening during the auction and they have a way to audit what has happened during the auction. If you are not guilty, they will not do anything to you,” he said.

The EFCC does not witch-hunt people but they want them to do the right thing. The system will show any manipulation of the bidding process, I believe that is why the EFCC wanted the auction done online,” Kiliya said.

Seye Morgan, who is the Chief Auctioneer and the CEO of Rihago Auction Ltd., said, “We do not have a problem with the EFCC investigation of the process and the allegations because we were completely transparent in our processes. We have date and time stamps, and we have e-mail addresses, and phone numbers of bidders as part of our registration process. It is okay with us; we do not have anything to hide.”

The EFCC’s image is at stake. Since its head and chairman, Olanipekun Olukoyede, had alerted the public that the commission had some bad eggs in its midst, we have witnessed its self-purge, with the firing of some of its staff. It was an act of institutional courage.

We have also applauded the work of the EFCC for its earnest onslaughts on corruption, like the unveiling of the hundreds of houses connected to the former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele.

Whether it was a hitch or ambitions of itchy fingers, we need transparency in the investigation into the auctions. (The Nation Editorial)