The presidency on Tuesday said the ongoing probe of the acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, is an affirmation that nobody under the present administration is above scrutiny.
Magu is being investigated for alleged corruption said to run up to N1 trillion. He was interrogated for about six hours on Monday by a presidential panel chaired by Ayo Salami, a former president of the Court of Appeal, and was later detained at the headquarters of the Force Criminal Investigations Department in Abuja where he spent the night.
Presidency sources said Magu may remain in detention for as long as investigations last.
In the meantime, the EFCC’s director of operations has been asked to take charge at the anti-graft agency pending the appointment of a substantive chairman.
According to facts made available to State House correspondents by a presidency source in Abuja on Tuesday, the interrogation of the anti-graft boss is to give him the opportunity to clear himself of the weighty allegations.
The source, who does not want to be named, said the investigation of the EFCC boss was to reinforce the Buhari administration’s commitment to transparency and accountability.
“The panel investigating allegations against Ag. EFCC chairman had been sitting for some weeks now. In consonance with the principle of fairness and justice, it was needful that the Ag. chairman be given opportunity to respond to the allegations, which are weighty in nature. Under the Muhammadu Buhari administration, nobody is above scrutiny. Repeat: nobody,” the source said.
“The investigation is to reinforce transparency and accountability, rather than to vitiate it. Accountability for our actions or inactions is inalienable part of democracy.
“In such elevated position as that of EFCC chairman, the holder of the position must be above suspicion. There’s no prejudgment. Absolutely none. The Buhari administration can be counted on to uphold fairness and justice at all times,” the source said.
