Abubakar Malami,
attorney-general of the federation, has directed Ibrahim Magu, acting
chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to
respond to the allegations levelled against him by the secret police,
TheCable understands.
In a letter dated December 19, 2016 and
delivered on Tuesday, Malami gave Magu 48 hours to respond to the
allegations made by the Department of State Services (DSS) which stalled
his confirmation by the senate last week.
DSS had alleged that Magu’s
accommodation in Abuja was paid for by a “corrupt businessman” and that
he flew first class to Saudi Arabia for lesser hajj, contrary to federal
government’s directive to its officials not to travel in the elite
cabin.
Magu was also accused of being illegally in possession of confidential EFCC documents when he was a director in 2007.
An official in the office of the
attorney-general told TheCable Magu was directed to respond to the
allegations in order to give him “fair hearing” before President
Muhammadu Buhari decides on the next step.
However, there are also questions as to
why Magu was not asked to respond to the DSS allegations before the
report was passed to the senate.
The latest move may be an attempt at
face-saving by the federal government before dropping the nomination of
the police officer, critics say.
There has been no love lost between Magu and the director-general of the DSS, Lawal Daura, who authored the indicting report.
TheCable learnt that top presidency
officials hold Magu responsible for various negative online reports
against Buhari’s aides following in-fighting in the administration.
The failure of the senate to confirm
Magu has led to speculations that there is a gang-up against him by
those who are likely to face trial if he becomes the substantive
chairman.
It is also said that many will be glad
to see the back of Magu because he has been a “thorn in the flesh” of
corrupt politicians for over 10 years.
This article originally appeared on TheCable.
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