Presidential Panel Asks Buhari To Sack Magu, Appoint New EFCC Boss

 

Presidential Panel Asks Buhari To Sack Magu, Appoint New EFCC Boss

By George Ogbolu

 

President Muhammadu Buhari has been asked to sack and prosecute the suspended acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, for corruption and abuse of office.

According to The Cable, the Justice Ayo Salami-led presidential panel made the recommendation to President Buhari in its interim report submitted on Wednesday.

The panel accused Ibrahim Magu of violating the code of conduct law by allegedly failing to declare his assets when he assumed office in 2015.

The Ayo Salami panel asked Buhari to appoint a new chairman for the EFCC “without further delay”.

Recall that Buhari had suspended Magu and appointed Mohammed Umar in an acting capacity.

The suspended EFCC chairman probe began after Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation, submitted a memo to Buhari, accusing Magu of “grave malfeasance”.

The embattled police chief was alleged to have mishandled the recovered loot and sold seized assets to his associates.

Ibrahim Magu was also alleged to have purchased a property in Dubai, United Arab Emirates using a pastor as a conduit.

The suspended EFCC chairman has since denied all the allegations which he described as “nonsense”.

 

He had accused the Ayo Salami-led panel of being biased, questioning the characters of the witnesses that have appeared to testify against him.

Meanwhile, Magu in a letter asked the Justice Ayo Salami-led panel to provide copies of documents tendered against him by those who have appeared before the commission.

Magu’s counsel Wahab Shittu, in a four-page letter dated August 20, 2020, and addressed to the Chairman of the commission, demanded that he be given the necessary documents by the commission to be able to defend his client.

 

Ibrahim Magu referred to Section 36 (6) (A) of the 1999 constitution which requires that anyone charged with criminal offenses be provided with adequate information to enable them to prepare for their defence.