‘I Am Innocent,’ Magu Denies All Allegations Against Him

The suspended acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ibrahim Magu, has given a detailed response and defense of the petitions and allegations leveled against him.

In his defense document obtained by Channels Television on Thursday, Magu denied all the claims as untrue and a calculated attempt to tarnish his name.

He insisted that not a dime of the recovered funds was fraudulently converted for his personal use and challenged his accusers to produce evidence of such fraudulent conversion.

The suspended EFCC boss also disagreed on the argument of the powers of his office as chairman of the anti-graft agency to initiate criminal prosecution.

He explained that the power to prosecute cases was not what he could arrogate to himself and before he was appointed acting Chairman of the commission, the agency has constantly exercised its statutory power to institute criminal charges where prima facie evidence was made out without seeking for the consent of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF).

Magu, who is being investigated by a presidential panel led by Retired Justice Ayo Salami over allegations of gross misconduct in activities of the EFCC under his watch, argued that the various decisions of the Courts of Appeal were to the effect that the agency does not need the fiat of the AGF to institute criminal charges.

He lamented that since his appearance and subsequent detention on July 6, he has repeatedly sought the details of allegations and petitions against him personally and through his lawyers, but the request had not been obliged to date.