Embattled Magu says he has prepared defence against ‘malicious or genuine’ allegations against him in public space

The embattled former Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) Ibrahim Magu, has woken up saying that he has a prepared defence against malicious allegations against him.

He vowed not to fold his arms seeing issues being armtwisted as well as ‘false peddling’ against him, noting that he would respond to every single one of them.

Magu’s lawyer, Shittu Wahab in a statement on Sunday, explained that the allegations were prejudicial to the proceedings of the interagency panel headed by Justice Ayo Salami (retd).

Shittu said: “Take notice that our client can no longer fold his hands in the face of these sustained malicious attacks to prejudge him in the public space.

“Our client will, henceforth, point by point, reply to all false allegations orchestrated against him in the public space on a daily basis, as well as present his comprehensive defense for the world to see.

“This is without prejudice to the willingness of our client to defend himself in the ongoing proceedings at the Presidential Investigation Panel.

“The truth of the matter is that well over N329 billion recovered by EFCC under our client’s watch was remitted directly into NNPC dedicated accounts under a special arrangement endorsed by NNPC, EFCC and the affected NNPC’s indebted marketers.

“By virtue of the said special arrangement, NNPC had requested formally that the EFCC recover the said amount from the affected NNPC’s marketers who were expected to pay such funds directly to NNPC while NNPC, in turn, confirmed receipt of such payments to EFCC.

“Therefore, EFCC never took custody of any of the recovered funds and so, the question of misappropriation of such funds by EFCC or our client could not have arisen as falsely published.”

Magu was arrested on July 6 and is currently facing investigation over allegations raised by the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF.

On the allegation of false asset declaration, Shittu said it was as “gross misrepresentation and blatant falsehood”.

Shittu feared that the panel’s proceedings in the case of Ibrahim would be discredited as a result of recurring falsehood in the public space, if they don’t rise to the occasion of replying them one after the other.

Reacting to the allegation that he was shielding some persons in the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, from prosecution, Magu stressed that investigations were conducted.by the anti-graft agency and charges have been prepared for prosecution of those people in court.

Magu’s lawyer in a statement explained that ‘there is no efflusion of time’, in criminal prosecution by the state, hence, his client has no interest in shielding anyone found culpable from the long arms of the law.

“It is tendentiously wicked to suggest that our client excluded major approving authorities from the criminal process”, the.statement concluded.