Magu: Civil Society fears political undertone, calls for investigation

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Transparency International Nigeria has called for a full blown investigation to avoid removal of Ibrahim Magu in order to serve certain political interest.

The Civil Society organizations feared there were unresolved clash of political interests, hence thorough investigation of allegations levelled against the Acting EFCC Chairman for which he was suspended would unravel the truth.

In a statement issued and signed by the Executive Director of CISLAC, Mr. Auwal Ibrahim Musa and made available to journalists, he expressed concerns that there were conflicting signals over certain issues, given that EFCC is a sensitive asset recovering agency.

“We are calling on the Presidential Panel set up to investigate allegations of corruption and insubordination leveled against the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, to carry out a thorough and fair investigation.

“The panel, which is headed by the former president of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami (Rtd) is investigating allegations made by the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, against Ibrahim Magu.

“While it is unclear what the real issues are, CISLAC is concerned about the conflicting signals it sends to Nigerians.

“Being that Ibrahim Magu heads a very sensitive position of a sensitive government agency tasked with the investigation of financial crimes, such as advance fee fraud and money laundering, it is thus pertinent that the case be handled with all diligence and transparency in order to ensure that the gains in the fight against corruption are not lost in the battle for supremacy and political advantage.

“This development has heightened the need for reforms in Anti-Corruption Agencies (ACAs), which is long overdue.

“In the aspect of Asset Recovery, CISLAC has been consistent in calling for a reform of the system, which is prone to mismanagement, embezzlement and political misuse.

There is no clear framework on who takes custodian of recovered assets and how they are utilized.

“The Government has claimed recoveries of assets worth billions of dollars without accounting who manages these assets, how these assets areMagm utilized and what prevents the re-looting of looted assets”, the statement noted

“The control of lucrative asset recovery ‘business’ of asset freezes, confiscations and repatriations has caused inter-agency rivalry among ACAs saddled with the responsibility of fighting corruption”, the statement noted.