Ibrahim Magu: The Last Straw?
Davidson Iriekpen and Damilola Oyedele write that the Department of State Security report and Ibrahim Magu’s unimpressive appearance before the Senate conspired to deny him confirmation for the EFCC chairmanship job
The rejection of Ibrahim Magu as substantive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) following his screening by the Senate last week, is a case of being twice unlucky. But beyond speculations that his fate was already decided before the screening, it is necessary to critically examine the factors that worked against the Borno born policeman.
The bid for Magu’s confirmation had suffered setbacks in the upper legislative chamber, even though he had been functioning in acting capacity since 2015. The letter seeking his confirmation was first transmitted by then Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, as Acting President, on June 17, 2016. It was however not read on the floor of the Senate until July 14, 2016 by Senate President Bukola Saraki. Five months after, the Senate declined to confirm him based on a damning security report from the Department of State Services (DSS), which indicted Magu of corruption, accused him of sabotage and leading a double life.
Following the Senate’s rejection of his nomination based on DSS’ indictment, the president had directed the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), to investigate the allegations against him. President Muhammadu Buhari in a letter dated January 22, 2017, to the Senate, had however renominated Magu, seeking his confirmation, as he had been cleared of wrongdoing.
A second chance
Magu finally got his day, when on March 15, 2017, he was screened by the Senate, during which he fielded questions from the lawmakers for almost two hours. Retiring to the committee of the whole, the Senate voted to reject his nomination, and urged President Buhari to nominate another candidate, and that Magu should cease to act as EFCC boss.
But could the Senate had confirmed a nominee of the President so discredited by the same presidency through a damning DSS report? Many believe that even though the allegations were weighty, Magu had the floor for about two hours to debunk those allegations, which he failed to do convincingly.
Admittedly, the Assistant Commissioner of Police was not on a talk show, or trying to win an award for good speech, but that Magu himself did not seem prepared for the screening was obvious. First, when asked to defend himself against the allegations in the report, he responded that he did not know he would be asked to do so, else he would have come with copies of the report. He should be more surprised than any other person if the report was not raised, that is even if the DSS had written another report exonerating him. He again said he did not want to respond to the allegations publicly, to avoid bad relationship with a sister agency. Here, the nominee completely missed the point and a great opportunity to disabuse the minds of Nigerians about the question of his integrity . Granted that addressing the allegations adequately with available evidence may not have ensured his confirmation, but if anything, he got a rare chance to defend himself and clear his name publicly, on live television. The view is that Magu ought to have prepared clear and concise answers to each allegation and his handlers ought to have grilled him properly before his appearance.
Another opportunity Magu missed was to give account of his stewardship in the hallowed chamber and before the people’s representatives by reeling out figures of recoveries and convictions secured since his assumption of office in acting capacity. He should have expected questions on how much had been recovered so far. To be unable to respond to that question showed his level of unpreparedness. The least he could have done was to have provide figures of recoveries for a given period, at least.
Perhaps one of the biggest goofs was when he responded to the query on how Certificates of Occupancy seized from an individual were found in the market. Unconfirmed reports alleged that the documents belong to a former governor, raising eyebrows on how such documents in a high profile case were not properly secured.
“On the case with the stolen C-of-Os, it is not everything that is done in the EFCC I have knowledge of. The EFCC is too big, if not now, I didn’t know there was a case pending against EFCC staff in police station. But I will now go back and investigate it and give you a feedback after my investigation,” he had said.
In using the words ‘too big’, Magu presented a picture of a CEO who is unaware of the goings-on in his organisation. Truly no one knows everything in his agency , but to so present during an interview for a job, is to say “I am too small to handle this.”
For those who witnessed the Magu screening in the senate, it was not the DSS report that mattered but how he responded to the allegations. One of the reasons his confirmation failed was because of his lackluster performance in answering questions and his inability to convincingly debunk the 14-point allegations raised in the DSS report. Magu did not provide clear answers to the questions and claimed ignorance of some of the allegations bordering on corrupt practices against the EFCC
What next?
While the Senate has asked that Magu should cease to be the acting chairman of the commission and that a new name be sent for screening, some civil liberties organisations and Nigerians have urged the President to re-nominate him for confirmation. But analysts have asked some critical questions. What report would the Senate consider, should he be renominated, particularly as the DSS has stood by its initial report? Is it possible for the Senate to ignore the report, so publicised? What would Nigerians say if the Senate had ignored the DSS report, and confirmed him? Can the DSS reverse itself, and give Magu a clean bill of health? What would that say about the credibility of the secret police, which Magu himself has publicly questioned?
Perhaps, Nigerians should look more to the presidency for answers to the intrigues, even though some have argued that the Senate simply found the DSS report as a convenient excuse to stop his confirmation. The DSS is an agency of the same government that nominated Magu for the EFCC job. The heads of both agencies are appointees of the President. There are still more posers begging for answers: Was a second report clearing him for the job actually issued? Where is the report? Is the President deliberately ignoring the DSS report? Where is the report of the Attorney General of the Federation in this saga? Why did the President re-nominate him, if he was indicted in the DSS report? Is it a signal that the President may not be fully aware of what is going on in his government? Or is the inter-agency rivalry so bad that the President’s wishes are willfully ignored?
The DSS report that put Magu’s fate in the balance
The report, which the DSS made reference to in its March 14, 2017 letter, reads in part:
“In August 2008, following a search at his residence during the tenure of Farida WAZIRI (AIG/Rtd) as the commission’s chairman, some sensitive EFCC documents which were not supposed to be at his disposal were discovered. He was subsequently redeployed to the police after days of detention and later suspended from the Force. In December 2010, the Police Service Commission found Magu guilty of “Action prejudicial to state security, withholding of EFCC files, sabotage, unauthorised removal of EFCC files and acts unbecoming of a Police officer,” and awarded him severe reprimand as punishment.”
“Notwithstanding, sequel to the appointment of Ibrahim Lamorde as Chairman of the EFCC in 2011, he made the return of Magu to the EFCC a top priority. Both men had worked together at the commission when Lamorde served as Head of Operations of the agency. Magu remained a top official of the commission until he was appointed to succeed Lamorde.”
“Magu is currently occupying a residence rented for N40m, at N20m per annum. This accommodation was not paid for from the commission’s finances but by one Umar Mohammed (Air Commodore/Rtd), a questionable businessman and ally of subject who has subsequently been arrested by this service. For the furnishing of the residence, Mohammed enlisted the Federal Capital Development Authority to award a contract to Africa Energy, a company owned by the same Mohammed to lavishly furnish the residence at the cost of N43m.”
“Investigations show that the Acting EFCC Chairman regularly embarks on official and private trips through a private carrier, Easyjet, owned by Mohammed. In one of such trips, Magu flew to Maiduguri, alongside Mohammed and the MD of Fidelity Bank, Nnamdi Okonkwo, who was being investigated by the commission over complicity in funds allegedly stolen by the immediate past Petroleum Minister, DiezaniAlison-Madueke”
“Furthermore, the EFCC boss has so far maintained a high profile lifestyle. This is exemplified by his preference for First Class air travels. On 24th June, 2016, he flew Emirate Airlines’ First Class to Saudi Arabia to perform the Lesser Hajj at the cost of N2,990,196. This is in spite of Mr. President’s directive to all public servants to fly Economy Class.”
“Investigation also revealed that Magu parades a twin personality. At one level, he is the czar who has no friends, no favourites and is ready to fight corruption to a standstill. However, with a key friend in the person of Umar Mohammed (Air Commodore/Rtd), a controversial businessman, he has betrayed the confidence reposed in him by the present administration.
Whereas Magu portrays himself as very secretive, he has fostered a mutually beneficial relationship with Mohammed who, by his confession, approaches ‘clients’ for possible exploitation, favours and associated returns. This was facilitated with official secrets divulged by Magu and from which dealings he is believed to have been drawing considerable benefits.”
“This was evidenced by the number of official and classified documents he made available to his associates, especially Mohammed. After a search of Mohammed’s premises, a forged letter of the Office of the Vice President, dated 20th May, 2016, was recovered. The letter was a fictitious investigation report from Vice President to Mr. President, requesting for approval to commence further probe into a matter allegedly involving Hon. Minister of State Petroleum. Attached to the letter were two EFCC letters dated 13th April, 2016, and another 24th March, 2016, addressed to the Vice President being investigation reports on the activities of Emmanuel Kachikwu and his brother Dumebi Kachikwu. Similarly recovered during the search were information on assets and personal details of Kachikwu.” (see concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)