The Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says allegations levelled against Ibrahim
Magu, its chairman, by Charles Grassley, a US lawmaker, are baseless.
In a letter dated
April 1, 2020, Grassley, a US republican senator and chairman of senate
committee on finance, accussed the EFCC of persecuting members of the
opposition party.
The letter,
addressed to Deborah Connor, the chief money laundering and asset recovery
section of the US department of justice, came at a period when the EFCC is
processing the repatriation of $300m looted by Sani Abacha, former head of
state.
In a statement on
Friday, Tony Orilade, EFCC acting head of media and publicity, described the
accusation as “a desperate bid to frustrate the repatriation of the funds”.
He said even
Mohammed Bello Adoke, former attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and
minister of justice, and an opposition PDP politician, “poured encomiums on
Magu on the visible achievements of the EFCC under his watch”.
He quoted Adoke as
saying “President Muhammadu Buhari is highly celebrated for fighting corruption
and the poster boy of this celebrated achievement is clearly Magu”.
Orilade said the
anti-graft agency remains “at the forefront of the transparent management of
recovered funds and would not be dragged into any controversy over an
allegation that has no fact or any iota of proof.”
Orilade emphasized
that the EFCC has its records of how recovered funds and assets were managed.
He accused the
lawmaker of following the antics of those who have resorted to blackmailing the
current administration.
“The allegation
clearly has no bearing with the operations of the EFCC nor address the
painstaking efforts of Magu in tackling the menace of corruption, without fear
or favour,” the statement read.
“The EFCC is
involved in the processes of repatriation of the looted $300million by the
former Head of State, the late Gen Sani Abacha and quite aware of the
tripartite agreement involving Nigeria, the United States and Island of Jersey.
“As an anti-graft
agency, the Commission has credible records of managing recovered funds and
assets and it is rather unfortunate that the ranking US Senator, in a desperate
bid to frustrate the repatriation of the funds, clearly embraced the well-worn
antics of some unscrupulous elements in the country, who never succeeded in
blackmailing the anti-corruption crusade of President Muhammadu Buhari.”
Orilade said Magu’s
award of excellence given by the US federal bureau of investigation establishes
the agency’s credibility in the fight against corruption.
He mentioned that
three governors of the ruling party are serving jail term, adding that such
records further shows the impartial nature of the EFCC.
The spokesman said
the anti-corruption agency will not be distracted by the claims of the US
lawmaker.
“Even the harshest
detractors of Mr. Magu know and always acknowledge his firm and bold handling
of the anti- corruption fight which continues to earn him accolades within and
outside Nigeria,” it read.
“Only recently, the
US Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, gave an Award of Excellence to Mr.
Magu for his unique role in a joint field operation codenamed, “Operation
Rewired”. The operation yielded great results internationally in tackling the
menace of cyber-crime.
“It is worrisome
that a high-ranking US lawmaker of the status of Grassley could not get his
facts rightly nor establish a credible premise of attacking an FBI- celebrated
Magu. Would the FBI have come out to acknowledge the effectiveness and
credibility of the EFCC under Magu’s watch, if such allegation of oppressing
opposition to President Buhari’s government had any merit?
“Grassley evidently
lacks any sound basis for linking the EFCC and Magu with any oppressive or
separatist agenda against government opposition.
“Records of
convictions of the Commission are in the public domain as well as cases before
the courts, which can be subjected to un-biased analysis and scrutiny.
“We wish to
reiterate that the EFCC under Magu is too focused on the anti- graft agenda of
the government to be distracted by such empty claims of the lawmaker. Grassley
and his sponsors are clearly on quicksand on this issue.”
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com