Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, has said he was not bothered by the controversy over his confirmation by the Senate, stressing that he’s more concerned with his mandate to decimate corruption in the country.
Magu stated this yesterday during an elaborate press conference to mark his 3rd year anniversary in Abuja.
Flanked by other directors of the agency, the acting EFCC chair said, as far as he was concerned, what matters most to him was the realisation of the dream of President Muhammadu Buhari to fight corruption.
“My challenge is corruption fighting back with allegations and counter-allegations. I think if people are in a hurry to confirm you in this kind of work I am doing, it means you are not working. It also means you are simply derailing and not doing what is required of you.
“My concern is on meeting our target and get the work done. If you are busy lobbying for confirmation, you can’t be fair and balance. I am only concerned about my job and remain focused. I will rather want people to tell me when I don’t do my job rather than any distraction,” Magu said while answering questions from journalists.
He further noted that the journey in the last three years, has been tortuous, stressing however that the determination of his staff enabled the anti-graft body to secure several convictions.
While giving the breakdown of the achievements of the agency under him, Magu said the commission has so far secured a total of 703 convictions in the ratio of 103 in 2015; 194 in 2016 and 189 in 2017, while it has secured 217 convictions from January 2018 to date.
Asked to comment on what the agency was doing about illicit property owned by Nigerians in Dubai, he said the commission was in partnership with the authorities in that country as well as the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) to track what he called “unauthorised property held by Nigerians.”
Many of them, he said, were selling those properties to avoid being tracked while some are changing the certificates of ownership in order to avoid being caught.
He, however, assured that everything was being done to ensure that illegally acquired wealth is returned to the Nigerian people who originally own them.
Tinubu
Answering questions on why the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has not been probed by the agency, Magu challenged the journalist to write a petition against the former Lagos state governor and substantiate same.
The journalist had asked Magu when he would probe Tinubu, who had
Purportedly claimed in a video in August that he was richer than Osun state.
The journalist also asked why Magu was refusing to answer questions on the video which allegedly captured the Governor of Kano state, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, receiving bribes from contractors.
In his response, Magu said, “You know what? If you are really interested, write a petition and see whether I won’t act. Go and write a petition and substantiate in the petition and find out if I won’t act. It is not for us to listen to people on radio and begin to act.
Yes, we have intelligence but the surest way to get action is to go and write a petition and substantiate the contents of the petition and see whether I will not act.”
Malabu Oil scandal
The anti-graft crusader said by next week, investigation would reopen into the Malabu Oil scandal which has almost dented the image of the country and its former leaders.
“We are expecting prosecutors from Italy in the country next week in order to begin the whole processes about Malabu Oil. It’s not as if we have closed the case, but work has been going on underground,” he said.
Magu was appointed chairman of the anti-graft agency on November 12, 2015 by President Buhari after its former chairman; Ibrahim Lamorde was relieved of his position.
However, the upper chamber severally refused to confirm his appointment citing security report on him by the Department of State Security Services (DSS).
