President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Mr. Ibrahim
Mustafa Magu, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, and the Deputy
Director of Internal Affairs of the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) as acting chairman of the commission.
He takes over from Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde who is proceeding on terminal
leave ahead of the formal expiration of his tenure in February next
year, according to a statement released monday by the Special Adviser
(Media and Publicity) to the President, Femi Adesina.
Magu, whom Police sources described as "a fearless investigator who can
stand up to any duty," is a graduate of Accountancy from the University
of Maiduguri and a certified accountant.
"He has the capacity for this assignment. He is prudent and he likes to
work conclusively on investigations. He is coming with a huge
experience in investigation of financial crimes. He is an assistant
commissioner of police, a Kanuri from Borno state of the North-east,"
said a source who worked with him at the Police Special Fraud Unit,
Abuja, last night.
He served as head of the Economic Governance Unit (EGU) of the EFCC
during the tenure of Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, as chairman of the commission.
Magu was said to have made several enemies because of his fearless
attitude to official work.
An informed source in the anti-graft agency also described Magu as the
brain behind high profile investigations of indicted former Nigerian
governors, and was one of the early recruits into the EFCC by Mr.
Ribadu. He is seen by many of his colleagues as an ‘’incorruptible and
courageous’’ officer.
As head of the EGU, sources said some of the investigations Magu
spearheaded included the collapse of Societe Generale Bank of Nigeria,
and Chief James Ibori, former governor of Delta State.
He is a trained financial crimes investigator with background in
forensic accounting, and training at the FBI institute and the London
Metropolitan Police institute. He had also served, prior to his EFCC
posting, in Bosnia under the United Nations peacekeeping police
operation.
Magu is also a member of the investigative committee convened by
National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno, on the orders of
President Muhammadu Buhari to probe the procurement of arms in the Armed
Forces from 2007 till now.
He was arrested on August 4, 2008 following allegations that police
discovered EFCC files and a computer containing classified documents at
his Abuja residence by the former chairman of EFCC, Farida Waziri. She
was perceived to have been uncomfortable with his presence in the EFCC
and doubted his loyalty.
The new acting chairman was subsequently re-deployed to the police
after days of detention with nothing incriminating found against him. He
was said to have later been suspended from the police, going without
salaries for months. Following his appointment in 2011, Lamorde returned
Magu to the EFCC.
Though Adesina's two-paragraph statement which announced Lamorde's exit
from EFCC said he would be proceeding on terminal leave ahead of the
formal expiration of his tenure in February next year, there had been
allegations of corruption leveled against him, which had attracted the
attention of the Senate.
A Presidency source revealed last night that "Lamorde had tried to
defend himself against the allegation of corrupt practices levelled
against him, it is obvious that the perception that Lamorde is corrupt
is affecting the anti-corruption crusade of Mr. President. He just has
to go.
“The next thing now is for President Muhammadu Buhari to look for a
competent and credible person that can drive the commission in line with
the anti-corruption crusade of Mr. President."
Also monday, the Senate postponed indefinetely the probe of Lamorde by
the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions
scheduled to continue tuesday.
One Dr. George Uboh had petitioned the Senate alleging that Lamorde had
diverted the sum of N1 trillion, which he claimed the former EFCC boss
recovered from the late former Bayelsa Governor, Mr Diepreye
Alamieyeseigha, and other politicians.
Consequently, the Senate had mandated its Committee on Ethics,
Privileges and Public Petitions, headed by Sen. Peter Nwaoboshi, to
investigate the allegations and had summoned him to appear before the
Senate committee twice but Lamorde had refused to honour the
invitations.
The Clerk to the committee, Mr. Freedom Osolo, did not give reasons for the postponement.
"I regret to inform you that the hearing of the Senate Committee on
Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions slated for Tuesday, 10th
November, 2015, has been postponed for the time being, You will be duly
informed when the meeting is rescheduled, please’’, the statement from
Osolo office added.
Lamorde was said to have gone about his normal duties monday without
any hint of his removal. THISDAY gathered that he was at the
Presidential Villa at about 12pm, after which he returned to his office.
Investigation also revealed that Larmode visited the office of the
Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) between 4pm and
4:30pm, where he would have gotten the news of his removal, but did not
disclose it to even his personal aides.
He headed straight to his residence and instructed his protocol and
other aides to stand down without breaking the news of his removal to
them.
Source: THISDAYLIVE
No comments:
Post a Comment