Abdulsalami Abubakar, former head of
state, says operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
came to his guest house in error in 2017 but did not conduct any search of the
property.
In a press statement issued on Thursday
evening in reaction to media reports that Ibrahim Magu, the acting chairman of
the EFCC, recently conducted a search in his Minna residence, the retired
general said his house has never been searched by the agency or any other
security outfit.
The statement was signed by his military
assistant, J Mfon, a retired army captain.
He said: “The attention of His Excellency
General A A A Abubakar has been drawn to reports that the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) searched his house in Minna, Niger State, on
the orders of its Acting Chairman, CP Ibrahim Magu, and HE feels the need to
put the record straight: HIS HOUSE HAS NEVER BEEN SEARCHED BY EITHER EFCC OR
ANY SECURITY AGENCY.
“However, sometime in 2017 operatives of
the Commission from Kano zone came to Minna to search a house in Tunga. The
team ended up at His Excellency’s Guest House in Minna and told the security
officers on duty that they had instructions from their zonal head to search the
property.
“The officers said since the numbering of
houses in Tunga was haphazard, it must be a case of mistaken identity. When CP
Magu was contacted, he said he was not aware of the operation. Thereafter, the
EFCC team from Kano left. His Excellency’s understanding is that they realised
they came to the wrong address. However, no search was conducted in the guest
house.
“His Excellency as a rule does not comment
on media publications directed at or concerning him. He has taken this step in
view of the reactions these reports are generating. His Excellency felt the
need to provide this important clarification due to the ongoing media frenzy
insinuating His Excellency’s role in Magu’s issue.”
When TheCable contacted Olusegun Adeniyi,
chairman of THISDAY editorial board who broke the news in his weekly column on
Thursday, he said his anecdotes had been misinterpreted by some readers to mean
Abubakar and Theophilus Danjuma, former minister of defence, had anything to do
with the travails of Magu, who has been suspended as EFCC chairman and is
currently under detention.
Adeniyi said: “Yes, General Abdulsalami
called me to explain that he had no problem with Magu and that the house in
question was a guest house and it was by mistake. Mrs Daisy Danjuma also called
me earlier in the day. She confirmed they recently purchased a plane to replace
the old one but there was no EFCC problem with the Cheque which she said she
signed. She said her husband did not complain about Magu.
“I think the problem is that some readers
are interpreting my anecdote to mean that both Danjuma and Abdulsalami had
anything to do with the travails of Magu. I made no such claim in my piece.”
In his article, Adeniyi had written:
“Former Defence Minister, Lt General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma (rtd) was
recently at the villa to see President Muhammadu Buhari. It was a visit borne
out of rage. A billionaire oil tycoon, Danjuma had paid for the purchase of an
aircraft. His cheque bounced! The order to withhold payment, he was told by his
banker, came from Magu!
“From what I gathered, it took some time
before the president could convince Danjuma that he knew nothing about what was
clearly power mongering by a reckless public official.”
Magu is facing a presidential panel over
his stewardship at the anti-graft agency.
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Hahahahaha! ... and Magu may have been suspended in error too. All animal are equal...
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