IT was a triumphal entry yesterday for former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu as he arrived in Nigeria from the United States after a self-imposed exile.
Ribadu, dressed in a ash coloured caftan with a black cap, arrived at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos at 4.30 p.m. aboard a Delta Air aircraft.
He was, however, prevented from speaking with journalists by operatives of the State Security Services (SSS), who shielded him from reporters.
Ribadu only muttered a few words to journalists who had besieged the airport to interact with him.
Asked how he felt returning home almost a year he left Nigeria, Ribadu said: “I feel wonderful, wonderful, great.”
He was taken through the departure hall instead of the arrival hall where arriving passengers pass, ostensibly to beat journalists.
The security build up around the area by stern looking operatives brought activities to a halt as checked-in passengers ran to catch a glimpse of him.
Ribadu was later ushered into a waiting black Mercedez Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV), with registration TJ 63 ABJ
Immediately he came out, journalists struggled to meet him. Ribadu had a hectic time wriggling himself out of the tight situation.
The first thing he did before the shuffling started was to hug his two children, who had come to receive him.
Before his arrival, journalists had positioned themselves in three strategic places at the airport when information came that he might be taken through an unfamiliar area of the facility.
Airport officials had sold a dummy to reporters that he would arrive aboard an Arik aircraft. This information prompted reporters to surge forward when an Arik flight arrived at 4 p.m.
Ribadu’s lawyer, Femi Falana, who was at the airport, doused the tension when he confirmed to reporters that he would come with Delta Air from Atlanta Georgia.
Last week, Ribadu was reinstated as Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) and retired effective from December 22, 2008.
He was removed as EFCC boss and replaced with Mrs. Farida Waziri in 2008 by the Federal Government in very controversial circumstances.
Thereafter, the Police Service Commission (PSC) demoted him to the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police (DPC) and redeployed to Benin, Edo State.
Following his refusal to report at his new post, the Nigeria Police sacked him. Ribadu headed for the court to contest his dismissal and later fled the country over alleged threat to his life.
When President Goodluck Jonathan assumed office, the pendulum started swinging in Ribadu’s favour. First, he was pardoned and the charges against in the court were dropped.
There were speculations that he was being considered for various offices by the government.
Following his controversial removal from office, and subsequent dramatic dismissal from the Nigeria Police Force, the former attorney general, Michael Aondoakaa, filed charges against Ribadu, accusing him of failing to declare his assets while he was the EFCC chairman.
Ribadu, who has since denied the allegations, told journalists that his asset declaration forms were, "submitted on assumption of office in March 2003, and my exit from office in December 2008.
He said the charges were trumped up basically to smear his name and persecute him because he had crossed some influential people while in office.
Tribunal, which was hearing the case, declared Mr. Ribadu wanted on Friday November 20, last year following his refusal to appear before it.
While in the US, Ribadu undertook a fellowship at the Centre for Global Development (CGD), a think tank in Washington D.C. dedicated to international issues of development.
During his fellowship, he was the lead person for the centre on anti-corruption, institutional reform, and African law enforcement policy. He also undertook special missions to advise many African countries who were setting up anti-corruption and financial intelligence agencies.
Ribadu had a running battle with the late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, which forced him into exile and taking up the fellowship offers at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom and then CDG in the US.
The former EFCC boss was charged to court over alleged failure to properly declare his assets during his tenure at the EFCC.
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