Lagos — The English philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, in his classic work, Leviathan, posits that man is inherently savage and brutal, that he is moved to action not by his reason or the intellect but by his appetites, desires and passions. Is Nigeria regressing to Hobbes's state of nature, where the life of man is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short"? What has become of the rule of law and due process? Why is the polity being unnecessarily and avoidably heated up?

As is our wont, we do not pull any punches in defending the fundamental rights of the citizen, for it is our firm belief that human interactions in any civilised community should be guided by an agreed code of conduct, the infraction of which should attract sanctions. In this regard, we are mindful that Section 7 (1) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Act 2004 states: "The Commission has power to - (a) cause investigations to be conducted as to whether any person, corporate body or organization has committed an offence under this Act or other law relating to economic and financial crimes; (b) cause investigations to be conducted into the properties of any person if it appears to the Commission that the person's lifestyle and extent of the properties are not justified by his source of income."

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