Following his impressive performance, there were strong indications yesterday that President Muhammadu Buhari has written the Senate seeking the confirmation of Mr. Ibrahim Magu as the substantive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Magu is the fourth chairman of the agency. Others before him are Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, Mrs. Farida Waziri and Mallam Ibrahim Lamorde.
According to findings, the letter was forwarded to the Senate through his Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Ita Enang.
It was gathered that the President opted for Magu because of his “record-breaking performance, transparency, integrity and exceptional courage” since his appointment as the acting chairman of EFCC on November 9, 2015.
Magu was recently promoted to the post of a Deputy Commissioner of Police based on his good performance.
His nomination as the substantive chairman of EFCC was said to be in line with Section 2(1) (a) of the EFCC Act.
The section reads in part: “The commission shall consist of the following members – (a) a chairman who shall (i) be the Chief Executive and Accounting Officer of the commission; (ii) be a serving or retired member of any government security or law enforcement agency not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police or equivalent; and (iii) possess not less than 15 years cognate experience.”
When contacted, Enang was not forthcoming on the President’s letter.
He said, “It is not my job to speak on communication between the President and the Senate but it is my responsibility to work on communication between the two arms of government. I cannot say yes or no to your enquiry.”
As at May, the EFCC under Magu had secured140 convictions in six months.
The list included the following: a former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Raymond Temisan Omatseye (five years for N1.5n contract scam); a Lagos Court Registrar, Mrs. Rosulu Idowu Oluronke (10 years for $8.4m); a former Chairman, Ogori/Magongo Local Government Area of the Kogi State, Gabriel Daudu(154 years for N1.4billion fraud); ex-Adamawa Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, John Elias Babani (10 years for N51.5m); George Uboh (three years for selling vehicles belonging to the defunct Police Equipment Fund).
The EFCC also secured a court order to extradite a former Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPM), Ehi Okonyomon to the United Kingdom to face charges of corruption and money laundering on the N750m polymer bribery scandal.
It also got another order to extradite a Nigerian fugitive, Franca Asemota to the UK for prosecution of trafficking of minors.
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