Presidential panel probing the suspended acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, has requested President Muhammadu Buhari to grant it a two-week extension to grill the embattled EFCC boss for allegedly shielding a military contractor, Aboubakar Hima, a national of the Niger Republic, accused by the Presidency of laundering $25million since 2017, from arrest and prosecution.
The fleeing Nigerien military contractor, Hima, was declared wanted recently by Magu’s successor at the anti-graft agency, Mohammed Umar, the former Director of Operations at the EFCC.
The two-week extension according to the media reports being sought, is also to enable the Justice Ayo Salami panel to conclude investigations concerning all the other allegations levelled against Magu before the panel.
This contradicts media reports at the weekend that the panel had submitted its report to President Buhari and had recommended Magu’s sacking as EFCC acting chairman, as well as his subsequent prosecution for corruption and abuse of office.
It was reported that the report submitted by the panel to Buhari specifically requested the President to approve an extension of two weeks for the panel to conclude its sitting and round off its sessions.
The report claimed further that one of the major issues Magu will be expected to answer questions on during the extension window is that of the 46-year-old Nigerien national alleged to have been used to launder $25million stolen from Nigeria through the purchase of a military helicopter valued at $5million, and who the suspended EFCC boss had shielded from arrest and prosecution in the past three years.
The online media learnt that the United States government had investigated the Nigerien national in 2017 and had forwarded its findings to the federal government, which sent the document to Magu for action.
Magu, it was gathered however, allegedly protected the foreign military contractor and had since then been frustrating every move by the federal government to apprehend the suspect and recover the laundered money.
He was said to have become “visibly shaken” when the allegation of shielding the foreigner for three years was laid before the panel.
Magu was said to have acted against the directive of the Presidency that the Nigerien military contractor, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Societe D’Equipment Internationaux, and his collaborators, be arrested and prosecuted.
Magu, it was further learnt, rather allegedly issued the Nigerien military contractor an EFCC clearance letter while also giving him protection from arrest in the past three years. A copy of the clearance letter, it was learnt, is already before the panel, a development which Magu himself is said to be aware of.
The panel was said to have requested the Presidency for copies of the documents related to the case of the Nigerien military contractor, which it was obliged.
First News gathered that it was on the strength of the revelations from the panel on the matter and the documentary evidence before it that the current acting chairman of the EFCC recently decided to declare the Nigerien military contractor wanted for “criminal conspiracy, contract scam, misappropriation of public funds, money laundering and fraud to the tune of over $394million, E9.9m and N369million.”
Presidency sources told First News that the 16-page report submitted to Buhari indicates the request for extension, which is captured in the provisions of the instrument setting up the panel, is to enable it to grill Magu concerning all allegations against him, as presented before the panel.
The panel’s report, it was learnt, explained to the President that the extension would give the panel adequate time to conclude its probe and file its report.
It further explained to the President that the panel would require two to three more sessions to grill Magu and also afford him the opportunity to provide answers to the various weighty allegations levelled against him boss before the panel.
But contrary to media reports, the Salami panel clearly stated in the report submitted to the President that it had yet to conclude its investigation of Magu, First News learnt.
Sources told the online media that since the panel began its sitting, Magu has only been sitting through at the various sessions to listen to witnesses, after which he’s usually called upon to make clarifications.
Also, he’s said to have always been given the opportunity to cross-examine witnesses and sometimes make clarifications on submissions.
The final stage of the panel’s probe, it was learnt, is to give Magu the opportunity to offer explanations on the submissions by witnesses against him.
A Presidency source, who spoke with First News on condition of anonymity, said claims by Magu’s lawyer, Wahab Shittu, that his client had yet to be formally served with the allegations levelled against him, were part of the media campaign to discredit the Salami panel.
He said, “Magu always sits inside with the panel and listens to every witness. He has been provided with every document needed. His fear is that he would be given all the space to defend himself and present documents as he wishes. He wants the space to dance to the gallery before the media like Major Mustapha did before the Oputa panel.
“The panel’s request for extension is to enable Magu to do all he wants to do before the conclusion of its sitting and its final report. All his lawyer is saying is a strategy by his media consultants and CSOs working for them. The extension is to enable Magu have enough time to respond to all the allegations one by one, because there are so many questions for him.”
The Presidency source further told First News that Nigerians would be shocked by revelations that would come out from the panel’s sessions during the two-week extension, if granted by the President.
“That is the last stage of Magu’s investigations by the panel. You’ve not heard anything yet on the matter. Major issues for which he is to provide answers are not yet in the public domain,” he said.
President Buhari had in a letter dated July 3, 2020, directed the panel to submit its “interim reports to me from time to time.”
Former Director of Operations at the EFCC, Mohammed Umar, has been in charge of the commission in acting capacity since July 6 when Magu was taken before the panel by a combined team of Department of State Services and officers from the Force Criminal Investigation Department of the police in Abuja.
He was detained at the Area 10 FCT police command for nine days before being granted bail.
Magu’s ordeal began after the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami sent a memo to President Buhari in which he accused the suspended EFCC boss of “grave malfeasance.”
He was alleged to have mishandled the recovered loot and sold seized assets to his associates.
Magu was also alleged to have purchased a property in Dubai, United Arab Emirates using a pastor as a conduit.
He has since denied all the allegations which he described as “nonsense.”
The former acting chairman of EFCC has also accused the panel of not giving him fair hearing.
Magu has, through Wahab Shittu, his counsel, written several letters to the panel, demanding to be served a copy of the charges against him in order to prepare for defence.
Buhari had appointed him in 2015 but the Senate declined to confirm his appointment, citing a DSS report which indicted him of corruption — although Magu denied any wrongdoing.
