The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has debunked the allegation of the Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Finance, Charles E. Grassley, against the acting chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu.
The 86-year-old US Republican Senator had in a letter dated April 1, 2020, and addressed to the Chief Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section of the US Department of Justice, Deborah Connor, accused Magu of “detaining individuals who have spoken against the Buhari government.”
The EFCC acting spokesperson, Mr. Tony Orilade, in a press statement, Friday in Abuja, said the allegation “clearly has no bearing with the operations of the EFCC nor address the painstaking efforts of Magu in tackling the menace of corruption, without fear or favour.”
The statement read in part, “The Commission is involved in the processes of repatriation of the looted $300 million by the former Head of State, the Gen. Sani Abacha, and is aware of the tripartite agreement involving Nigeria, the United States and Island of Jersey.
“As an anti-graft agency, the Commission has credible records of managing recovered funds and assets and it is rather unfortunate that the ranking US Senator, in a desperate bid to frustrate the repatriation of the funds, clearly embraced the well-worn antics of some unscrupulous elements in the country, who never succeeded in blackmailing the anti-corruption crusade of President Muhammadu Buhari.”
