Be Law-Abiding: Abia PCC Commissioner, Ukaegbu Urges Nigerians
By Charity Uwakwe
The Federal Commissioner, Public Complaints Commission, Abia Chapter, Hon. Madukwe .E. Ukaegbu says immunity covers only those who contravene the law in the course of their duties.
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The Commissioner who was reappointed on September 25, 2025 after the expiration of his first tenure, urged Abians and Nigerians in general to strictly adhere to the law, emphasizing that the Commission will not relent in its commitment to addressing administrative injustices, despite the odds.
Regarding the integrity of the Commission, he explained that, like the law, the PCC does not show favoritism based on an individual’s affluence, reiterating that the law is impartial, hence all individuals, regardless of their affluence, are treated equally.
When asked how he would handle a situation where either party involved is emotional, Ukaegbu affirmed that the Commission was committed to dealing with facts and would not be swayed by emotions, no matter the circumstances. He emphasized that favoritism had no place in the Commission’s operations.
“What we do is to let them know that we deal with facts; we don’t play on emotions. Of course, you know that emotions are critical to human development and endeavour but, when it comes to cases, they don’t apply. That’s why I’ll use the symbol of the court. The lady is blind folded because it doesn’t want to see blood, she doesn’t want to see a knife, it doesn’t want to see a gun. All she wants to hear is your fact and so that’s the same module we have here in PCC. We need facts, but if you come here crying, fine. You have a ring to cry; if you come here wailing, you have a right to wail but after you finish wailing, the Investigator will ask you questions about what the situation of things is.”
In addition, the Honourable Commissioner advised affluent Nigerians to comply with legal stipulations, insisting that none will be protected by “immunity” if found guilty of an offense; they will have to face the consequences of their actions.
To illustrate his point, Ukaegbu provided an example: “If a complaint arises against the President of Nigeria—who is the custodian and symbol of the constitution—the President, and similarly Governors, Ministers, and Senators, should be held to a higher standard. They should know better than an average citizen.
Continuing, he added: “The constitution is very clear as to what the mandate of the Public Complaints Commission is all about- administrative injustice. I gave an example to people; I said okay, because somebody asked me about immunity. I said immunity only covers those that the immunity was meant for if during the course of their duties, an infraction came out as the person is performing his duties.
“You cannot start probing that person in the course of your duties. But, if for example, a Governor doesn’t like someone and he says “go and bring me this person” and he hires people to flog the individual and he perhaps enjoys flogging someone, and the Governor says, “I want this person to be flogged in my office”,that is not part of his job. At that time, if the man/woman who was flogged complains to Public Complaints Commission, we will come after the Governor, that’s what we are saying; we’ll come after the President.
“That’s our mandate. It’s not something that’s mixed; you don’t have a grey area to it. Because he’s the president or Governor, like me, he’s a federal Commissioner or Commissioner or Senator anywhere, or a member of the house of representatives. You’re not protected.
“But, if in the course of your duties something happens and everybody knows it’s in the course of your duties, it’s a separate issue. At that point, one can look at it, he or she as a governor or president was doing his job and this thing happened in the course of his duty. Therefore, he is protected and immune from other trials or administrative investigations.
The Commissioner clarified that there are no grey areas regarding this matter. Public officials are not untouchable; if they abuse their power, the Commission will act, regardless of their status.
“There are no grey areas to these matters. They’re very straightforward and anybody joking around because you are a president or senator and you start doing things outside what the law stipulates you should do, the public complaints commission is there to look into it without fear or favour.”
He noted that law enforcement officers who misuse their power are often held accountable by their superiors, which reflects the same principle the Public Complaints Commission adheres to.
“There are no grey areas to these matters. They’re very straightforward and anybody joking around because you are a president or senator and you start doing things outside what the law stipulates you should do, the public complaints commission is there to look into it without fear or favour.”
Asked the number of cases the commission has handled since the inception of the year and the effectiveness of the resolutions proffered, he explained that the Commission had handled 1, 068 of 1,7012 cases that were brought to the office.
Hear him:
“Since January, 2025 till date, we’ve had about 1,7012 cases that came in and out of that, we have resolved about 1, 068.
And we have about 644 pending cases and we hope that we continue to do the best that we can to ensure this, because the essence of Public Complaints Commission is to ensure that our advocacy yields the best results that’s why we are almost in the 774 local government areas of the federation, because we want people to complain as quickly as the matter arises instead of escalating it to the point that it may not be handled.”
Meanwhile, he used the medium to inform the general public that their Commission’s services to the people are free of charge, hence there is no room for financial inducement.
“Of course, as you work in any situation that involves human beings, people are bound to talk to you, saying things like, remember this and that. We don’t do that in the Public Complaints Commission; our job is that we do what is required. By the way, all the services provided by the Public Complaints Commission and the OMBUDSMAN in the whole federation are free of charge. We don’t collect kobo; our services are FREE OF CHARGE in capital letters so that the person can know that it’s not the regular kind of free of charge. This is a Commission where things are free of charge. You walk in and we take care of you and we make sure you are okay, because what the Constitution established us to do is to make sure that peace reigns in the country. We want peace to reign and it is only PCC that you can come to all your complaints will be free of charge.”
