Three foreign anti-corruption
groups say the exit of Ibrahim Magu as acting chairman of the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) “may erode the recent gains in the fight
against corruption”.
They said what is going on in
Nigeria “is of concern to the international community”.
Magu was arrested last Monday and
is currently being probed over allegations of gross misconduct.
He was later suspended by the
president and has since been replaced by Umar Mohammed, director of operations
at the agency.
According to the groups — Re:
Common, Global Witness and The Corner House based in Europe — Nigeria has made
huge strides in the fight against corruption under Magu’s leadership.
The groups’ position was
contained in an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, signed by Lucas
Manes of Re: Common, Nicholas Hildyard of Corner House and Simon Taylor of
Global Witness.
Olanrewaju Suraju signed on
behalf of Human and Environmental Development Agenda, the Nigerian member of
the coalition.
They said the recent travails of
the suspended EFCC boss may be the ploy of desperate, corrupt politicians.
RECOVERY OF STOLEN FUNDS
“What is going on in Nigeria is
of concern to the international community. Mr Magu has proved himself to be up
to the task,” they said.
“His determination to fight
corruption is evident by the recovery of stolen funds and properties plus his
own high moral ground earned at the cost of diligence and hard work never
before seen.
“His political removal questions
the will of Nigeria to deal with a major cause of the country’s
underdevelopment which is corruption.”
The groups have been assisting
Nigeria in the monitoring of ongoing litigation processes on the corruption in
the OPL 245/Malabu deal linked to top oil companies and officials.
They claimed that Magu has also
diligently followed up on the case, making proper recommendations and ensuring
that those involved are duly prosecuted.
According to the groups, they are
not opposed to Magu being investigated as all allegations must be probed, but
they want due process to be followed.
“The procedures are clearly being
hijacked by detractors of Magu in the political space and this is eroding the
potential credibility of the outcome of the panel constituted to probe these
allegations.
“The hounding of Magu through
seemingly politically connected sponsored media harassment only makes matters
worse.”
The groups referred the president
to a recent report by the University of Edinburgh-led Global Integrity
Anti-Corruption Evidence programme which records that “Nigeria’s
anti-corruption law enforcement efforts are gradually growing more effective as
practitioners adapt and innovate in response to many persistent challenges.”
It noted that “the respect
Nigeria has gained is exemplified by the recognition accorded to Magu, not
least by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, which recently honoured him
with an award of excellence”.
“We have been hugely impressed by
the dedication of its investigators and by the disciplined leadership shown by
Acting Chairman Ibrahim Magu,” the coalition stated further.
“The agency is completely
different from the sclerotic, timid, politically captured bureaucracy that it
was in the previous period. The credit for this is due in large part to you for
appointing Magu and sticking with him despite efforts to unseat him.
“Indeed, in meetings we have had
with this, and other agencies, conversations have often referred to the
impressive current leadership of the EFCC.”
‘FALSE ALLEGATIONS’
The groups added that Magu has
previously been exonerated from all the allegations pointed out by Abubakar
Malami, attorney-general of the federation (AGF), in 2017 and that the only
fresh allegation is that relating to insubordination.
They accused the AGF of bypassing
“the usual administrative procedures of issuing a query to an accused officer
under his ministry in favour of a political approach.”
“We are concerned that
accusations of ‘insubordination’ risk crossing the line that ensures the
independence of prosecutors from political interference,” they said, adding
that despite bearing false witness being illegal, no one has been investigated
or charged in relation to bringing the false allegations against Magu in 2017.
“We realize that you have been
placed in an invidious position by the attorney-general. However, we very much
hope that you will find a way forward that protects the huge strides made by
the EFCC under Magu’s acting chairmanship.
“We very much doubt if the
Italian case would have reached the stage that it has without his committed and
diligent response to mutual legal assistance requests.
“At this critical stage in the
trial, his replacement for political reasons would be wholly regrettable and
would only give succour to those being prosecuted.”
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