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Tag: Mr. Ibrahim Magu

  • Separatist agitations is being funded by corruption – Magu

    Separatist agitations is being funded by corruption – Magu

    The acting Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ibrahim Magu, has identified corruption as the root cause of separatist agitations and militancy in the country.

    Spokesman of the commission, Wilson Uwujaren, said in a statement that Magu made the remarks at the opening session of a two-day Electronic and Social Media Review and Training Conference held at the EFCC Academy in Abuja on Thursday.

    In the statement, Uwujaren quoted Magu as saying “people would not be engaging in needless agitations if the country was corruption-free.”

    The EFCC boss also said that Nigeria’s unity was one that could not be compromised, and urged participants at the conference to step up public sensitisation on the ills of corruption.

    He said “we can change the negative perception of this country. I urge you all to be committed in this fight using your various platforms.

    “The root cause of the hate speeches by the Arewa and Igbo youths is corruption. Some people are actually funding them.

    “The looters of our common wealth are the ones responsible for the woes bedevilling Nigeria. We must do everything possible to secure the unity of this country.

    “People who don’t deserve anything are taking everything and if there is no common consensus to halt the trend, the future of our children yet unborn will be mortgaged.’’

    Magu urged the participants to take a critical look at the social media platforms of EFCC and come up with suggestions on how to make them better.

    In a presentation, Mr Joe Abah, the Director-General of the Bureau for Public Service Reforms, commended the EFCC, describing it as the leading anti-graft agency in Nigeria.

    Abbah said “EFCC deserves a lot of credit. You are doing a great job. Your work is what we all need you to do but many of us don’t want you to do the work.

    “EFCC is clearly chatting a new path for social media engagement for the anti-graft agencies looking at its statistics on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Google+, and Instagram.”

    He stressed the need for all anti-graft agencies to constantly compare note to improve information sharing and synergy across the social media.

    A prominent blogger, Mr Joshua Omojuwa, who spoke on “Digital Media in Nigeria”, said “one could not deny the great works and achievements of the EFCC.”

    Omojuwa noted that the EFCC Twitter handle “was strong”, rating it as the twitter handle of the year 2017.

    He further shed light on how the new media could be used to make the job of corruption fight more effective.

    He said “social media pages should be domiciled in your website, which is the headquarters of your activities in the commission. “You need to start creating visual contents.”

    He warned that the commission should be wary of hackers, saying he had noticed that the EFCC had many fake Facebook accounts.

    While noting that this could be damaging to the image of the commission, the blogger advised that Facebook should be contacted to block the fake accounts.

    Lauretta Onochie, the Special Adviser to the President on Social Media, urged Nigerians to join the President Muhammadu Buhari Administration in tackling the “hydra-headed monster called corruption.

    “Corruption has been a hindrance in the wheel of progress of the country. We need to stand up against corruption.

    “Let us live as patriots of our nation. I plead with every Nigerian to support the nation and the EFCC in the anti-corruption war. Let us all come together and kill corruption.”

    The conference was an initiative of the Public Affairs Directorate of the EFCC, the first social and electronic media programme review by the agency.

    The initiative was part of the commission’s efforts to enhance its communication strategies and channels used in engaging the public in the fight against corruption.

  • NITDA, EFCC forge alliance, tighten noose on IT procurement racketeers

    NITDA, EFCC forge alliance, tighten noose on IT procurement racketeers

    National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) have forged an alliance in order to strengthen the anti-corruption war especially on the procurement of Information Technology, (IT) products and service among the Ministries, Department and Agencies of the Federal Government.

    Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, the director general of NITDA, disclosed this on Tuesday when he led the management team of the Agency on a working visit to  EFCC Headquarter in Abuja.

    Pantami stated that the alliance has become imperative in the face of the wanton corruption being perpetrated by MDAs especially in the procurement of IT products and services as most of the projects pass through less scrutiny during budget defense at National Assembly because of the expertise required to ascertain the needs and specifications of these IT requirements.

    “Many MDAs consider IT projects  as conduit pipes to siphon public funds and I believe partnering with EFCC will bring sanity to the sector and by then the commission will be empowering NITDA in strengthening its regulatory function through which it will also be developing  and promoting the local content in the IT sector,” the NITDA boss said.

    While suggesting the modus operandi of the partnership, Dr Pantami informed that the two organisations could form a working group which would also serve as a desk to deal with sharp practices in the IT procurement, adding that, “EFCC may help in asking MDAs to produce procurement clearance issued by NITDA during their investigations.

    He said NITDA as IT regulatory body in the country, the Agency is responsible for subjecting IT product to value-for-money analysis, reduce projects duplication, justify the spending of public funds on IT projects and to advise MDAs on the alternative options of IT products and service with a view of reducing cost especially on sharing of software among themselves.

    The DG who believed that the alliance would strengthen the existing relationship between the Agency and the Commission said: “supporting NITDA would go a long way in blocking loopholes in IT procurements.”

    In a press release signed by Hadiza Umar, head, Corporate Affairs & External Relations at NITDA, she said the DG commended the EFCC’s Acting chairman for his doggedness, fearlessness and outstanding performance which he has recorded in acting capacity saying the feat could take some people 20 years to achieve as substantive chairman of the commission.

    While assuring him of his prayers and goodwill, Dr Pantami stated that Nigeria needs people like Mr Magu who are fearless and do not think of the consequences of their action to move forward as a nation

    In his remarks, Mr Ibrahim Magu, the acting chairman of the Commission, who expressed his delight over the visit said that  EFCC as Commission “would be complying with NITDA’s request so as to bring some level of sanity to the procurement of IT products and services among MDAs in Nigeria.

    He described the partnership as timely especially now that the Commission is on the process of “completely digitalizing the operation of EFCC” adding that he now has place in NITDA to run to when he gets confused on  IT projects under investigations.

    Describing corruption as a threat to the unity of Nigeria, the EFCC boss maintained that the Commission cannot fight corruption alone without the consensus of all Nigerians, he pleaded to Nigerians not to  be discouraged on the recent corruption case judgments delivered recently

    Mr Magu stated that the cause of agitations from different quarters in the country today is because of corruptions that has ravaged the nation. “Absolutely there is a political will to fight corruption and this is not in doubt. This is the time to save this country from the shackles of corruption,” he added

    The two organisations agreed to nominate three officials each to constitute the working group and the desk with the term of reference of verifying the IT products and services to be procured with public funds.

  • ‘EFCC must investigate Melaye, Justice Ikpeme over bribe allegations’

    ‘EFCC must investigate Melaye, Justice Ikpeme over bribe allegations’

    Concerned Nigerians, a pro-democracy group committed to accountability, rule of law, good governance and the fight against corruption has urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)  to investigate the Snator representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Senator Dino Melaye and Justice Akon Ikpeme of the Cross River State High Court.

    The group made this known on Friday in a press release signed by Deji Adeyanju, the Convener and Dr. John Danfulani, Secretary., stating that its attention is drawn to a conversation between the Senator and the Judge which was published by Sahara Reporters, an online news platform, recently.

    In the release, the group noted that its attention is drawn to a conversation between the Senator and the Judge which was published by Sahara Reporters, an online news platform, recently.

    The statement reads: “Our attention has been drawn to a voice audio recording purported to be a conversation between Senator Dino Melaye representing Kogi West Senatorial District and Justice Akon Ikpeme of the Cross River State High Court published by Sahara Reporters few days ago.

    “We are calling on the Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu to sanction that an investigation be conducted into the allegations of bribery of the Cross River State High Court Judge by Senator Melaye.

    “A careful analysis of this voice recording suggests that the Cross River State High Court judge was bribed by Senator Dino Melaye.

    “The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) must investigate the circumstances of this recording, the allegations insinuated therein and the veracity of the recording. Senator Dino Melaye and Justice Akon Ikpeme of the Cross River State High Court must be invited for questioning by the EFCC. A thorough investigation must be done in this matter.

    “This is another test of the anti-corruption war of the Buhari led Government. EFCC must prove that there are no sacred cows in the fight against corruption and that all who commit financial crimes must be brought to book irrespective of their position.

    “Since members of the opposition have been at the receiving end in the fight against corruption of this administration, the investigation and subsequent prosecution of the culprits in this matter might correct the established notion.

  • Saraki, Dogara renew hostility against anti-graft batlle

    Saraki, Dogara renew hostility against anti-graft batlle

    Nigerians are angry with Senate President Bukola Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Hon. Dogara, for mocking the anti-corruption crusade of President Muhammadu Buhari. Observers believe their disposition development has called to question the loyalty of the leaders of the National Assembly to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), which they belong. Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN reports.

    The cold war between the executive and the legislature is far from being over. At a recent book launch in Abuja, the leaders of the National Assembly took a swipe on the Federal Government’s anti-corruption fight. Senate President Bukola Saraki claimed that the anti-graft war was sensational and selective while the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, insisted the war was only dealing with the symptoms of corruption.

    Analysts could not understand why the leadership of the National Assembly chose to castigate the executive in public. They noted that this is the first time in the history of democratic governance where both arms of government controlled by a party would disagree openly on a policy that is contained in the party’s manifesto.

    They described the attack on the policy as the climax of party indiscipline and disloyalty, since both of them were elected on the platform of the APC. The questions being asked are: What moral justification do they have to subject the party’s programme to public ridicule? Assuming they are not satisfied with the method deployed by the executive to fight corruption, can’t they use party’s internal communication lines to express their reservations and make suggestions?

    Prior to this development, both chambers had held the executive into ransom for what they described as the failure to implement parliamentary resolutions. As a result, the legislators had refused to consider proposals from the executive. The face-off took its toll on governance; it slowed down the decision-making process and also heightened political tension. For instance, the list of Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC) and ministerial nominees forwarded to the Senate were kept in abeyance. Why should the National Assembly dominated by the APC members be playing the role of the opposition? Can’t they resolve their differences at party caucus level, rather than working at cross-purposes?

    Afenifere chieftain Senator Ayo Fasanmi said the comments of both leaders were very unfortunate. He said they are trying to recant the statement to safe face. To the elder statesman, no amount of denial would absolve them from anti-party activities; it is on record that they branded President Muhammadu Buhari’s fight against corruption a ruse.

    Fasanmi said anyone saying Buhari’s anti-graft war is not on course needed to re-examine himself, considering the huge success recorded in recovering the public fund looted by the Peoples Democratic Party members (PDP) and their collaborators in the civil service.

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    He said: “President Buhari should not be distracted by the antics of forces of corruption. He should get along; he should not be discouraged. Fighting corruption in Nigeria is a difficult task that must be done if we don’t want corruption to kill this country.

    I made bold to say that Buhari is on course; the forces of corruption will capitulate whether they like it or not. The progressive forces which Buhari personify will overwhelm the forces of corruption in this country. If not for Buhari, only God knows what would have become of Nigeria if we had continued in the era of stealing-is-no-corruption.

    Public Affairs analyst Dr Friday Ibok described the APC as a ruling party that is not in power in the legislature. He said the power was eroded by personal interests. He said: “You should remember how Saraki and Dogara emerged as leaders of both chambers. They were not the ruling party’s candidates; they defied the party’s instruction and with the support of members of the PDP, they sailed through. How would you expect them to respect party supremacy?

    “The APC got it wrong from day one when Saraki and Dogara defied the party instruction and there was no sanction against them. That is why they talk any how; criticise the party’s policies in the public with impunity. Such will never happen in a disciplined party. There is what we call collective responsibility. You can disagree within the party, but not without. If they are not satisfied with Buhari’s style of fighting corruption they should write him a memo, detail their observations and suggestions on how to improve on the anti-graft war.

    “To me, Saraki and Dogara have exhibited political immaturity and indiscipline by criticising the party’s programme openly. The support of the PDP members for the Senate President and the Speaker of the House, who are APC members against the position of the APC government is not just because the PDP lawmakers voted for them, but it is part of the script written before they agreed to join forces with some APC lawmakers to weaken the avowed crusade against corruption and win back power in 2019.”

    On what should be done to restore normalcy within the party, Ibok warned against what he described as the personalisation of the problems of the party and advised the leaders of the APC to handle the anti-party activities of Saraki and Dogara with extra care so that it will not destabilise the party.

    A lawyer and civil right activist, Mr Monday Ubani, said he was not surprised that the leaders of National Assembly are mocking Buhari’s anti-corruption fight, because they have never supported the president in his effort to expose the corrupt politicians.

    Ubani cited the treatment of the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Mr Ibrahim Magu, when he appeared before the Senate for confirmation and the non-passage of bills sent to the National Assembly by the executive that would have enhanced the fight against corruption. He said some of them have been lying there for more than a year without consideration by the federal lawmakers.

    He added: “Nigerians are in support of the anti-graft war of President Muhammadu Buhari’s government. Corruption has retarded the development of this country; the enemies of progress are saying no; they won’t succeed. Now that Buhari is out there for medical attention, they are beating their chest that the fight against corruption would not succeed. Many of them are praying that Buhari should not come back alive. We are praying for him to get over his health problems and return home to continue his good work.”

    However, Ubani wants the anti-corruption war extended to all sectors. He said: “It should not be restricted to politicians alone. The police still collects bribe openly from motorists on the road; the immigration and customs officials still demand for bribe at the points of entry and departure; to obtain national passport the immigration officers collect gratification; the Road Safety corps members still get kick-backs from those who apply for driver’s licence.” He said the anti-corruption fight should look in the direction of the civil servants who are enmeshed in corrupt practices.

    Ubani added: “We should build a system that will sustain the fight against corruption like it is being done in advanced democracies. We should involve people in the fight and that is why I like the whistle-blowing policy of this administration. Since it was introduced, the EFFC has made many discoveries and recoveries of looted funds. The policy is working, because people are carried along by the government in its anti-corruption crusade.”

    A banker, Usman Abubakar, agreed with Ubani that the legislature is not on the same page with the executive on the fight against corruption. He said the reason being that some of the members of the Senate were former governors with baggage. They will resist any attempt to wage war against corruption, he emphasised.

    Abubakar said they kicked against Magu because he would not spare anyone in the course of investigating corrupt officials, no matter their status. He added: “He was treated shabbily when he appeared for confirmation; he was not allowed to defend himself against the report of the Directorate of State Service (DSS) that alleged him of corrupt practices.”

    He said Nigerians should not be surprised that Saraki and Dogara are mocking the anti-corruption crusade, because both of them emerged as leaders of both chambers in a questionable manner. He said they were not the party’s nominees.

    Abubakar said: “Only God knows how much they used to bribe the PDP legislators to clinch the leadership positions. We should blame President Buhari for the leadership problem in the National Assembly. If he had shown interest and come out to support the APC nominees for Senate President and the House Speaker, we won’t find ourselves in this terrible situation whereby members of the ruling party have constituted themselves into opposition; thereby undermining the efforts of the executive. The APC senators perform the role of opposition to the delight of PDP members.

    “To me, the Eighth National Assembly is the worst in the history of democratic governance in this country. The Senate President, Saraki is facing a criminal charge before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) over false declaration of asset. He goes from the hallowed Chamber of the Senate to face trial and return to the Senate to preside over the proceedings. Saraki has desecrated that office. In other climes, when people holding public office are alleged of crime and charged to court, they will step aside till the trial is over and the judgment delivered.

    “What I find intriguing is that Saraki has the gut to be telling Buhari how to fight corruption. He should be told that this is not the first time Buhari is fighting corruption in this country. When he was a military ruler between December 1983 and August 1984, Buhari clamped down on corrupt politicians of the Second Republic and purged them of the stolen public funds and assets. If we were under military rule, the likes of Saraki would have known his fate by now.”

    Civil rights activist Mashood Erubami described Saraki and Dogara’s negative comments as a product of the opposition forces, which the fight is actually targeted.

    He said the criticisms were coming from those who are being tried for the offences of corruption, but are being slowly tried due to the connivance of the bar and the bench. He said the case are not being speedily disposed. He said they should have been banned from politics and clamped into jail, to serve as a deterrent to others.

    Erubami said the notion that the current anti-corruption crusade has failed because no suspect had been convicted is not true, because of open conspiracy between certain institutions of government that are determined to frustrate APC/Buhari focussed anti-corruption fight. That explains why despite the criminal justice adjudication system, cases are still taking longer time than necessary to be determined.

    He said: “Presently, there are forces that have constituted themselves into opposition in the police, EFCC, the legislature, the judiciary including the bar that is waging counter offensives against the anti-corruption struggle of the Buhari administration. They are against the anti-corruption war and are currently fighting back the crusade to sanitise the society, using their monopoly without discretion to debar accountability through weakening the anti-corruption institutions.”

    Erubami, who is also the President, Nigeria Voters Assembly (VOTAS), said: “Any individual or institution found to be siding the derailment of the processes of enforcing deterrence against commission of the crimes of corruption, one of which is prosecution and imprisonment when found culpable, cannot be said to be favourably disposed to fighting corruption which obviously has been the main reason why conviction has been hard to come by. More so because some of the judges who are expected to dispense justice equitably are themselves very corrupt.”

  • Senate suspends confirmation of 27 RECs

    Senate suspends confirmation of 27 RECs

    …vow to defend selves against attacks

    A showdown between the Presidency and the Senate appears to be in the offing.

    The Senate Tuesday declared its readiness to defend its integrity against attacks by unnamed persons.

    The declaration is coming as the upper chamber unanimously resolved to suspend the consideration and confirmation of 27 Resident Electoral Commissioners sent to it by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki who announced the resolve of the Senate to defend its integrity after about two hours behind the door meeting said that the upper would not succumb to blackmail and intimidation in carrying out its constitutional duty.

    Saraki did not give details nor revealed the identity of the external forces he said were attacking the institution of the Senate.

    He said: “The Senate in a closed session discussed the various attacks on the National Assembly, especially on the Senate, for performing its constitutional duties.

    “The Senate resolved to defend the integrity of the Senate against such attacks and will not be intimidated from carrying out our constitutional duties at all times.”

    Sources said that Saraki’s position may not be unconnected to its recent face-off with some members of the executive, including the Comptroller-General of Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Col. Hameed Ali (retd) and the Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. David Babachir Lawal and the rejection of the nomination of Mr. Ibrahim Magu for appointment as Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    One of the sources noted that “the Senate is not happy that despite its rejection of Magu, the President still left him on acting capacity.

    The resolution to suspend the consideration of the nomination of the Resident Electoral Commissioners followed a motion by Senator Peter Nwaoboshi.

    The names of the RECs should have been read the second time and referred to the Senate Committee on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) but for the motion.

    Nwaoboshi prayed the Senate to suspend action of the nominees for two weeks to allow Saraki to convey the feelings of the Senate to President Buhari over alleged disregard of Senate resolutions.

    Nwaoboshi said, “Mr. President, taking a leave from America which started this presidential election. Recently the National Security Adviser was sent to the Senate of America and because of his believe in Russia he was disqualified. What am I saying, issues like this have to transcend the issue of political parties or where you have lived for the interest of Nigerians and also to protect our constitution and protect our democracy.

    “Recently in this Senate, we have dealt with the issue of confirmation and where we are today, the chairman of the Presidential Committee on anti-corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay went to the press and said that the Senate merely confirms. This is not expected of somebody who had lectured constitutional law in the university, a professor of law, a senior advocate of Nigeria and of course a chairman of such a big body to say that the legislature merely confirms, that is the legislature has no power.

    “Here are we again today, now been given a list to confirm and we merely confirms. Look at the list here, we have eight of them here out of 27, eight of them are for reappointment which means they are acting already, they are already working and they are still in position.

    “Prof. Sagay will start again section 171 subsection (d) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria even if we don’t confirm them he will say continue to work.

    “You can imagine this kind of advice that these kinds of persons are giving to Mr. President. They are telling Mr. President to disregard and disrespect the institution the legislature.

    “Mr. President, lets us not take such a precedence, we cannot destroy our democracy because certain persons, certain individuals feel that it is only their believe or what they want is what will happen in this country. This country does not belong to them; this country belongs to the Nigerian people. The Nigerian people have elected us; they have given us the power to look into those names sent to us for confirmation to look into their credentials.

    “But when you denigrate such an institution that have the power to confirm and used the word merely, we could not ignore it coming from somebody of that status. My position on this matter is that since our confirmation is merely; let us suspend it until we know whether we have the power as given to us by the constitution to look into confirmation matters or any other status.”

    Matthew Urhoghide (Edo South) in his contribution said, “In addition to what Nwaoboshi said which is the constitutional requirement that this Senate has to confirm nominations sent by the executive arm of government, the act establishing this agencies of government have specified clearly that this officers of these agencies whose appointments will be made by Mr. President have to be confirmed by the Senate.

    “We are only performing our statutory role and if by chance, Mr. President sends a name to the Senate for confirmation and they are not confirmed. What happens is that the President is at liberty to send another name but it must be that the senate too must be properly informed of what has happened to the confirmation either the one that has been upheld or the one that has been turned down by the senate. We deserve the right to know.

    “We cannot keep confirming names or turning down names of nominees of Mr. President only for them to be put in basket particularly the one that happened recently we don’t know what has happened. These persons cannot keep acting even when we have turned them down because as it is now they are acting and their names have been sent in for confirmation and we don’t know what has happened in the case of the EFCC.

    “Specifically speaking, is he acting today? If the President knew that he was not going to honour our refusal or rejection of his nominee they shouldn’t have sent him in the first place which would have meant an outright violation of the law establishing EFCC and of course the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended.”

    Senator Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central) opposed.

    Aliero said, ‘I rise to oppose what my two colleagues have just said for the reason that there is already an impression that is created particularly by the media that the INEC is not ready for the conduct of 2019 election. The 2019 election is very crucial to us and the preparation and the conduct of the 2019 election is the submission of resident electoral commissioners to the senate for screening and approval. Without that INEC will never be ready for the 2019 elections even though what they said is true. I want to ask that we consider the screening of this list and if there is any observation on any nominee it should be done at the screening stage. I will want to respectfully say that some of the nominees that are set to be on reappointment they have already left the office and they have served their term for four years.”

    The Senate Deputy Whip, Senator Francis Alimekhana (Edo North) was more vocal in his support that the confirmation of the RECs should be kept in view.

    He said, “I beg to differ from the suggestion of my colleague, Senator Aliero. It is better to do something and do it well. All these nominees reappointed, new appointment what if we refuse one of them what will happen? That is the question that the distinguished senators are asking the executive. There is no need to disapprove one and he (President) goes back to say you can continue to act. The EFCC chairman that we disqualified in this hall is he acting? Among the report that are agog in the papers he is behind it. Magu is terrorising us because we disqualified him and we cannot hide it. We disqualified Magu and he is terrorising our people because we disqualified him and he is still acting and they are still bringing in nominees for us to confirm. If they know they can do it alone let them do it.”

    Deputy Senate Leader, Bala Ibn Na’Allah asked for caution.

    He said, “This is a defining moment in our journey to nationhood. Having had the privilege of being a leader in this senate I have always prided myself with the fact that this senate is imbued with men of intelligence, courage and character with determination to play a fundamental role in our journey towards nationhood. I have always said that it consists of former governors, former ministers, former captains of industries what that means is that at each point that we are being called upon to decide on an issue that affects this nation. We must show that we have superiority of thinking and we have more commitment than those anti-democratic forces that survive outside the chambers of the national assembly. I think this is one situation where that call is relevant and important.

    “I share the sentiments of my colleagues on this issue. I am in great difficulty to disagree with more convincing reasons as to why I think the senate will thread cautiously on the request by my colleagues for us to stand down this. I think this matter is going to be referred to the committee, we still have enough time.”

    Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu noted that some of the positions of the RECs have been vacant for more than one year.

    He said any delayed should not be laid on the Senate but on the Executive that failed to submit the nominees on time.

    Ekweremadu said that Saraki should be allowed to convey the sentiment and feelings of senators to President Buhari on his appointments.

    He noted that it was necessary to allow Saraki to convey the feelings of the Senate to President Buhari.

    He proposed that the consideration of the nominees should be stood down for one week.

    Before a vote could be taken on Ekweremadu’s motion, Nwaoboshi moved that the matter should be suspended for two weeks.

    Senator Clifford Odia (Edo Central) seconded.

    When Saraki put the question, it was unanimously carried.

     

  • Men more corrupt than women – Magu

    Men more corrupt than women – Magu

    Mr Ibrahim Magu, Acting Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has said that corrupt tendencies were more pronounced among males than females.

    “Looking at the number of people that have been apprehended by the commission, the number of men involved outnumbers the women,” Magu said on Friday, in Abuja,

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that Magu made the statement when the executive committee of the National Council of Women Society (NCWS), paid him a courtesy visit.

    He said, however, that women were not pure or immune to greed, but that were only less corrupt.

    Magu described women as nation builders, stressing that their roles in ensuring the right societal values could never be over-emphasized.

    The EFCC boss stressed the need for collaboration between the commission and NCWS in the fight against corruption.

    He explained that the commission had never undermined the rule of law in its anti-graft fight, adding that the EFCC, aside tackling economic crimes, was working hard to put an end to political corruption.

    “We respect the independence of the judiciary and auditing bodies in our efforts to ensure that the corrupt are prosecuted, while stolen assets are returned,” he said.

    Magu craved women’s support in the fight against corruption, and disclosed that the Lagos zone of the “Women Against Corruption” would be launched on Feb. 22, 2016 to enlist that support in the battle to rid Nigeria of the menace.

    Earlier, Dr. Gloria Shoda, President, NCWS, had said that achieving developmental goals would only be possible when resources in public trusts were properly utilized.

    “Such misuse of resources has always been the problem in the country,” she declared.

    Shoda commended President Muhammadu Buhari’s consistency in the fight against corruption, saying that it had raised the benchmark in public service.

    According to her, the behavioural changes have become evident while compliance to the rules of due process are encouraging.

    She said that EFCC had proved effective in government’s bid to arrest the tide, and expressed readiness to partner with Buhari and EFCC toward restoring Nigeria to the path of dignity and glory.

    The NCWS official challenged the Federal Government to extend the vigour put into fighting corruption, to sectors like education, roads, healthcare and security.

    “We want a Nigeria where our agricultural sector is functional and ranked among the best in the world, not just for the sake of economic diversification,” she said.

     

  • Magu’s confirmation moved to Dec. 15

    Magu’s confirmation moved to Dec. 15

    The screening and confirmation of the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC),Mr Ibrahim Magu, was on Thursday, rescheduled to Dec. 15 by the Senate.

    The Deputy Leader of the Senate,Bala N’allah, made this known while addressing newsmen on Thursday in Abuja.

    He said the postponement of the exercise from Dec. 8 to Dec. 15 became necessary to allow for a full house to convene.

    According to him, lawmakers who travelled out of Abuja for official assignments requested the postponement pending their arrival to enable them to participate in the confirmation process.

    “The Senate is normally guided by the time frame of the work. We agreed that today will be the confirmation of the EFCC Acting Chairman, Ibrahim Magu.

    “But we received a lot of calls from senators who are away, who want to participate.

    “When we looked at the demand and the number we felt it will be wrong for us to proceed, disregarding those calls.

    “We decided to fix it for Tuesday but we were not sure if the President will declare Tuesday as Public Holiday, so we agreed to fix it for Thursday.

    “We have since written an official letter to the acting chairman fixing Thursday as the day for the confirmation hearing of his appointment,’’ he said.

    On why Magu’s confirmation had lingered for more than five months, N’allah said the senate had other matters of priority to attend to.

    “Anybody who is familiar with the normal procedure of governance would have known that there are certain procedures that need to be taken for candidates to be confirmed.

    “Whatever we do is always subject to interpretation but what is important is that a date has been fixed,” he said.

    The Presidency had in July written the Senate seeking the screening and confirmation of Magu as substantive chairman of the commission.

    President Muhammadu Buhari had appointed Magu as acting chairman of the EFCC after the removal of Ibrahim Lamorde on Nov. 9, 2015.

    Before his appointment, Magu was the Head of Economic Governance Unit of the commission.

    If confirmed, Magu will be the fourth head of the anti-graft agency, after Nuhu Ribadu, Farida Waziri and Ibrahim Lamorde.

  • Senate set to screen Magu Thursday

    Senate set to screen Magu Thursday

    More than five months after his nomination as the Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu, will Thursday be screened by the Senate for possible confirmation as substantive EFCC chairman.

    President Muhammadu Buhari nominated and forwarded the name of Magu to the Senate for consideration and confirmation as EFCC chairman.

    Magu has been functioning on acting capacity since his nomination raising fears that some powerful forces in and outside the Senate may be against his confirmation.

    The Senate did not help matters as it failed to refer the nominee to any committee for screening as it normally does in other instances.

    Findings showed that a principal officer of the upper chamber had been moving round to lobby Senators on the need to screen and confirm Magu.

    The principal officer is said to have told his colleagues that it would be better for those who may harbor any misgiving against the confirmation of Magu to play them up during his screening.

    Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu who presided Wednesday, announced that the Senate will hold a “confirmation hearing” for the screening of Magu today.

    Although Ekweremadu did not say whether the confirmation hearing will be conducted by the committee on Anti-Corruption, it is expected that the Committee of the Whole, chaired by the Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, would handle the exercise.

    The sensitive nature of the chairmanship of the EFCC is likely to come to play during the screening.

    Apart from asking the nominee some penetrating questions bordering on the operations of the anti-graft agency, sources said that the Senate would rely on the security report on Magu submitted to it by relevant security agencies.

    If confirmed, Magu would succeed Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde who was removed in November 2015.

  • EFCC seeks stiffer penalties for money launderers

    EFCC seeks stiffer penalties for money launderers

    The Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ibrahim Magu, on Wednesday called for severe punishment for money launderers and other financial crime offenders to

    Magu made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of a seminar organised by the Faculty of Management Science, Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, in Lagos.

    The seminar is entitled: “Money Laundering and its Impact on the Nigerian Economy: The Way Forward.’’

    He said that though the enforcement and compliance of the current money laundering Act in Nigeria was one of the best in Africa, the punishment needed to be reviewed.

    “The current Nigeria Money Laundering Act is good, but the aspect of punishment needs to be reviewed to be more severe.

    “The punishment prescribes about seven years ‎imprisonment,’’ he said.

    The anti-graft chief said that the menace had eaten deep into all institutions in the country.

    He said that 60 percent of corruption cases in the country border on money laundering.

    Magu urged various institutions in the country to partner with the anti-graft agency in its fight against corruption, describing it as “a crime against humanity’’.

    The chairman said that the “Change Mantra” of the present administration could only be achieved through the cooperation of all institutions and individuals in the system.

    “If the state governors can utilise 50 percent of their allocation properly, there will be tremendous change and transformation in the Nigeria economy,’’ he said.

    Magu, however, used the occasion to highlight the achievements of the commission in the last 12 months he assumed headship of the agency.

    He said: “There is more commitment from officials of the commission because of the current political will that gives them the freedom to perform their duty unrestricted.’’

    In his remarks, Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun, the Vice-Chancellor of LASU, lauded EFCC for its good work and the successes so far recorded in spite of the obstacles hindering ‎its efforts.

    Fagbohun said that corruption should be addressed in every institution, adding, “the world is looking for governance that can add value in the true sense.”

    He urged Nigerians and established institutions to start doing things rightly if they truly desire change.

    Fagbohun said that the judiciary should be responsive to correcting errors in the society.

    “Regrettably, where the court and the legislature fail in their duty, the media is the only arm helping the masses,’’ he said.

    Fagbohun advised the media to fill the gap, where the legal and political constitutionalism had failed.

  • EFCC boss urges judiciary’s support for anti-graft fight

    EFCC boss urges judiciary’s support for anti-graft fight

    The Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ibrahim Magu, on Thursday urged the judiciary to support the fight against corruption and promote the country’s justice system.

    Describing corruption as a colossal threat to the survival of a country, Magu said the judiciary was key in the successful prosecution of graft cases.

    Magu stated this in a paper at the 2016 lecture and awards of the National Association of Judiciary Correspondents (NAJUC)

    The theme of the lecture is “The judiciary, media, anti-graft agencies and the fight against corruption.”

    Magu, who was represented by an EFCC official, Mr Samin Amadin, noted that Nigeria’s rating by the international community had become so low as they see corruption as an industry in the country.

    He underscored the need for the judiciary to be effective in its role of justice delivery and urged it to ensure that culprits were brought to book.

    “The fight against corruption is multi-pronged; the underlying motive of the fight is to eradicate the problems of corruption and approaches required to achieve this, are multi-sided.

    “The judiciary is one of the pedestals on which the fight rest, the criminal justice system in our jurisprudence is effective and robust enough to help in this fight.

    “Today in Nigeria, the judiciary determines to a large extent, the direction and destiny of the anti-graft war,” he said.

    On the issue of questionable bail administration, the EFCC boss said except otherwise stated, all corruption offences were bailable, adding that the discretion of judges was required in situations where a suspect ought to be denied bail.

    He said such situations included where a suspect was perceived to be capable of frustrating his trial, adding that some judges even when presented with such facts were still inclined to grant bail.

    He noted that a major delay in the resolution of many graft related cases was the issue of delay in the trial of high profile cases at various levels of courts.

    He also noted that issues of stay of proceedings, trial-within-trial, lengthy adjournments, and vacation of judges were also handicaps which required redress.

    He urged the judiciary to ensure a religious enforcement of the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act in a bid to fast track the justice system.

    Other dignitaries at the event include Prof. Itse Sagay, the Chairman Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption, Chief Godwin Obla (SAN) and Mr Richard Nwakwor, founder, Crusade for Justice.