Appointment of new EFCC chairman came as a shock — Magu’s Lawyer

Tosin Ajaomo, the lawyer to the former acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, on Tuesday said the appointment of a new boss to head the anti-graft agency came as a shock.

President Muhammadu Buhari had earlier today asked the Senate to confirm Mr Abdulrasheed Bawa as substantive EFCC Chairman.

In a letter to the President of the Senate, Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, the President said he was acting in accordance with Paragraph 2(3) of Part1, CAP E1 of EFCC Act 2004.

But speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Ajaomo said justice has not been served in the allegations of corruption levelled against the erstwhile EFCC boss.

“Sincerely I need to tell you that this appointment came to me as a shock. There is still an unfinished assignment that was pending. I was expecting that the issue of Magu would have been sorted out before moving to another stage,” he said.

“Unfortunately, we just got this news today that a new Chairman has been nominated by the President and his name has been forwarded to the Senate.”

The legal practitioner admitted that President Buhari has the power by law to appoint a new czar for the anti-graft agency.

He however noted that when Justice Ayo Salami-led panel set up by the President to investigate Magu on the graft allegations, the Federal Government should have made the report of the findings public.

“It is obvious that when you talk of justice, you know what justice is all about. Somebody was suspended to be investigated, waiting for the report on the same issue. As an acting Chairman of the commission, he was suspended for an allegation that has not been proven against him.

“At the end of the day, the report which everybody was expecting to know whether the man has been found wanting or not, suddenly no report came out and another appointment was made,” he added.

Magu was on July 10, 2020 suspended from office by President Buhari, who directed the EFCC Director of Operations, Mohammed Umar, to take charge and oversee the activities of the commission.

The presidential directive, according to the Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, was to allow for an unhindered inquiry by the Presidential Investigation Panel under the Tribunals of Inquiry Act and other relevant laws.

In July, Magu was arrested dramatically in front of the EFCC Wuse II office and driven to the Presidential Villa where the panel sat. He was also detained for more than four days on the directive of the panel.

The corruption allegations were levelled against him by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.

Four months after his suspension, the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) summoned Magu who appeared before it on November 17 with documents of all his landed properties. (Channels TV)