President Muhammadu Buhari has suspended the acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and replaced him with Mohammed Umar, who was the Head of Operations of the anti-graft agency.
The Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), who announced this on Friday in a statement by his spokesman, Umar Gwandu, explained that Umar will overseer the commission pending the conclusion of investigation into allegations of corruption against Magu.
The statement reads: “President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the immediate suspension of Ibrahim Magu as Ag. Chairman EFCC in order to allow for unhindered inquiry by the Presidential Investigation Panel under the Tribunal of Inquiry Act and other relevant laws.
“President Muhammadu Buhari has also approved that the EFCC Director of Operations, Mohammed Umar, should take charge and oversee the activities of the Commission pending the conclusion of the ongoing investigation and further directives in that regards.”
The former EFCC chair is being investigated for alleged corruption to the tune N1 trillion.
He was quizzed for 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 Force Criminal Investigations Department, Abuja.
Magu’s investigation was sequel to a petition by Abubakar Malami, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, and the Department of State Service (DSS).
The AGF in the said petition, had accused Magu of abuse of office and diversion of recovered loot. Malami’s memo contained about 22 allegations against the embattled EFCC chair.
Reactions have continued to trail, Magu’s arrest and investigation, with some lawyers applauding the development as an affirmation of the president’s commitment to the fight against corruption.