AGF, EFCC deny rift
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister for Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) has refuted reports of a face-off between his office and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The anti-graft commission, in a statement yesterday by its spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, also said there was “no existing or impending face-off” between it and the office of the AGF.
Malami made this known yesterday at the inauguration of the Ministry of Justice’s website and Freedom of Information (FOI) Portal, in conjunction with the Right to Know (R2K) in Abuja.
While responding to questions on the implication of the EFCC’s failure to remit to the AGF’s office updates of corruption cases, Malami said the non-compliance does not mean there is a face-off between the two agencies.
The AGF had in a letter to the Acting Chairman of EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, dated August 1, 2017 requested him to forward update on cases and recommendations in line with Section 10 (1) of the EFCC (Enforcement) Regulations 2010, which mandates the commission to forward ‘serious or complex’ cases.
The letter accused the commission of being in breach of the said section and directed it to comply in the future.
Meanwhile, the AGF has announced dates for the first ‘National Summit on Justice’ to be held in Abuja between August 8 and 10.
While briefing newsmen yesterday, he said the summit would enable stakeholders to “consider, adopt and validate the draft National Policy on Justice, developed by the Technical Committee constituted by the Ministry of Justice in 2016.”
Meanwhile, Uwujaren said media reports suggesting conflict between the AGF and EFCC were the handiwork of “some unscrupulous persons.’’
He said the reports emanated from the imaginations of “corrupt elements, angling to knock heads together in furtherance of their own pro-corruption agenda.’’
“For the avoidance of any doubt, the EFCC wishes to categorically state that it is compliant with all provisions of law, and has no intention to stoke misunderstanding over requests from the office of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice,” he said.
He added that the EFCC, as agency set up by law, could never breach the law of the land or disobey constituted authority