July 7, 2020
HISTORIC acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC, Ibrahim Magu has been detained at the FCID, Area 10 Abuja. The embattled acting chairman was Monday, accosted by a combined team of Department of State Security DSS, National Security Adviser and members of the retired Justice Ayo Salami-led Presidential Panel set up by President Muhammadu Buhari on his way to the Force Headquarters and whisked to the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, sitting venue of the panel where he was drilled for six hours. Magu who had remained in acting capacity for 5 years running was later joined by the Commission’s lawyer, Rotimi Jacob while the interrogation lasted. Other members of the former President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami-led panel include Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Mike Ogbizi, representatives from the Office of the National Security Adviser, DSS among other agencies. However, multiple sources told CrimeWorld that as of 8.00pm Monday, when the panel rose, the duo of Rotimi Jacob and Magu were shellshock when the President of the panel gestured to the DSS operatives and officials of the National Security Adviser that Magu be taken to the FCID facility at Area 10 Abuja and remanded till Tuesday morning.
Until now, Ibrahim Magu had been under scrutiny since a memo by Abubakar Malami, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice was presented to President Muhammadu Buhari in June last month which amongst several others, alleged irreconcilable financial recklessness, insubordination and unilateral sale of recovered properties without recourse to extant rules against the anti-graft Chairman. One of such allegations according to Malami’s memo was that Magu had been economical with the disclosure of recovered loot adding, “Magu disclosed a total recovery of N504 billion but lodged N543 billion in the Recovery Account with the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN; amounting to N39 billion more that originally made public.” Added to this was that Magu had no regard for the Abubakar Malami-led Ministry which is the supervising Ministry of the EFCC and therefore, sells recovered properties without the knowledge and laid down rules of the Ministry; an act amounting to gross insubordination.
CrimeWorld was authoritatively told by a source at the FCID Abuja, that though, Magu may have survived previous plots to unseat him from the anti-graft agency, the present travail hinged on 24 weighty allegations leveled against the embattled EFCC Chairman may see his back out of the Commission. The Attorney-General of the Federation AGF and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami SAN, reports say, among several other recommendations, recommended an outright sack of and probe of the acting Chairman of EFCC to President Muhammadu Buhari; adding that “Malami even included a shortlist of three candidates for consideration to replace Magu.”
Source: Crime World