Ibrahim
Magu has been suspended from office as the acting chairman of the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission.
Mr Magu was suspended on Tuesday by
the Buhari administration amidst allegations of gross misconduct, two senior
EFCC officials familiar with the development. The suspension was also confirmed
by top officials at the presidency.
The officials, who spoke under
anonymity because the matter was still developing and the memo conveying it was
yet to be circulated to Mr. Magu and other concerned parties said the next
most-senior EFCC official next to Mr. Magu was asked to take charge.
But there are concerns that the next
official, Ola Olukoyede, the agency’s secretary, has no background as an
operative.
This raises the possibility of
Mohammed Abba, director of operations, being allowed to take charge because of
his background as an operative.
Efforts to reach presidential
spokespersons, Garba Shehu, and Femi Adesina, on the suspension, have not been
successful.
Mr. Magu was recently accused of
corruption, insubordination, and abuse of office by Attorney-General Abubakar
Malami.
Stemming from Mr. Malami’s
allegations, Mr. Magu was arrested on Monday morning by a police team outside
his office in Abuja.
He
was driven to the Presidential Villa where he appeared before a panel
investigating the allegations against him.
After his appearance before the
panel, he was taken into custody by the police, where he was held overnight by
detectives.
Mr. Magu has been leading the
anti-graft agency in an acting capacity since 2016, overseeing scores of
high-profile corruption cases that have seen many politicians and businessmen
convicted and sentenced to prison.
He strongly denied wrongdoing, with
his aides arguing that he has run the office diligently and away from sharp
practices.
Details shortly…
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