Magu Reveals Why EFCC IS ‘Selective’ In Looters Prosecuted

Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu, has said that the anti-graft agency has no apology over the arrests and prosecution of those who looted the nation’s treasury over the years. Magu, who made the assertion while taking scores of journalists and top government officials round its newly-completed multi-million head office complex in Abuja, also responded to the allegation by some well placed Nigerians that the commission was selective in the prosecution of its corruption war. The N24 billion project, which boasts of state-of-the art facilities and complete with 24-hour electricity, will be formally opened for business by President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday. Magu said that it was imperative for the agency to be selective in the prosecution of the corruption war to ensure that only those who commit economic and financial crimes are made to account for their misdeed. “We cannot just bundle accused persons into detention or charge them to court just to be seen to be to be fighting corruption when there is no evidence that they stole money anywhere,” Magu said. “That is why we check the records and where there is clear evidence that somebody no matter how highly-placed has stolen public funds, we arrest and charge them to court in line with our mandate. “If doing that is what some of our critics call selective, we are happy to be doing that until looters have their day in court and return the loot to the treasury,” the chairman explained. He said, “Nobody who has not looted can be brought to EFCC and detained and prosecuted. He also denied insinuations that the agency was being teleguided by higher authorities in the prosecution of the war against corruption. According to Magu ‘Nobody teleguides us on who to interrogate or not’. Conducting journalists round the edifice, Magu boasted that with the completion of the project, the agency would take the anti-corruption fight to a new level and with renewed vigour so as to put an end to the malady. The chairman said the agency had no apologies to offer for the way it had so far prosecuted the anti-corruption fight and praised the Nigerian media for the unceasing support it had extended to the agency over the years. Magu said, “I want to state that we have no apology whatsoever to anyone in fighting corruption. Without taking that approach corruption would have killed us. Whether looters like it or not, we will win the fight against corruption. We have already succeeded in creating the awareness that corruption is evil that must be eliminated before it destroys Nigeria. On the building which is said to have cost N24 billion, the chairman said he personally adopted cost-saving measures, including direct procurement of some of the equipment to drastically reduce the cost. He said he warned all those connected with the building that there should be no form of graft from the beginning to the end. Asked whether he is worried about the recent rating that Nigeria has not made much progress in corrupt war, the chairman said the country had made tremendous progress in the fight against corruption and that the rating did not reflect the true situation on the ground. But Magu said he was worried about the propensity of corrupt persons to commit more graft but said he was also not deterred to tackle it. We are working harder to achieve more in the graft war. As far as anti corruption is concerned we did very well. We are doing a lot to make the agency serve Nigeria and Nigerians better. It is an institution that will stand the test of time. On Special courts to try corruption cases in Nigeria, Magu described it as a good idea that would go a long way to reduce the long period it takes to prosecute one corruption case in court-from the Federal High Court to the Supreme Court.