EditorialTHEWILL EDITORIAL: Magu, Malami And The Corruption Conundrum

THEWILL EDITORIAL: Magu, Malami And The Corruption Conundrum

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SAN FRANCISCO, July 06, (THEWILL) – The present corruption conundrum in Nigeria is not only worrisome but also disgusting. It is, indeed, unfortunate and shocking that President Muhammadu Buhari, who had vowed to deal ruthlessly with fraud and corruption in the country on assumption of office, now appears helpless as the graft he pledged to fight from all fronts is now fighting back.

It is truly a sad commentary that the situation in the country has now become “an ironic twist of fate.” Those supposed to be in the frontline of the fight against corruption are not only being accused of corruption but some are also fighting themselves, shamelessly, in what is being regarded in some quarters as “rival allegations of corruption and fraud.”

The face-off between the Minister for Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN) and the acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu, is not only shocking and embarrassing but surprising at the same time.

Of great concern to Nigerians is the memo written to President Buhari by Malami, calling for not only the sacking of Magu over alleged fraud but also recommending possible candidates to replace the EFCC boss.

THEWILL had exclusively reported that Malami had asked President Buhari to pick a retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Sani Usman, who the President had already vetted for the job as new EFCC boss as Buhari was no more willing to re- nominate Magu whose appointment has not been confirmed since he was appointed five years ago following his rejection twice by the eight Senate.

Malami had made the request for the sacking of Magu as head of the anti-graft agency over alleged multiple serious offences bordering on alleged diversion of recovered assets, insubordination and misconduct.

ALSO READ: AGF Malami Writes President Buhari, Seeks Removal Of EFCC Boss, Magu

Lampooning Magu for being reckless and a liability to the anti-corruption war, Malami said: “There are discrepancies of figures concerning the recovered assets,” as he maintained that Magu has not been transparent enough in the management of the recovered assets.

However, the move has been described as a smokescreen and a cover-up plan by Malami, who, also, has been in the eye of the storm over alleged corruption.

Condemning the plan of Malami’s memo, the Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Kola Ologbodiyan, said it has exposed the “abysmal corruption, deception, and hypocrisy” in the Buhari Administration.

He maintained that “the world can now see that the much-hyped anti-corruption fight of the Buhari Administration, has been nothing but
a huge fraud and a racket… to harass political opponents, intimidate and extort money…_ ”

Magu has severally and continually been accused of alleged diversion of recovered loot, especially that of the late maximum ruler, General Sanni Abacha, and others, with Malami hitting hard on him on the serious allegations.

More worrisome is the fact that while this ‘opera of shame’ is going on, the attention of the international community and the country’s development partners are consistently focused on the ugly development.

THEWILL recalls that U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley had petitioned the U.S. Department of Justice over the return of $300 million Abacha loot.

The petition actually made the U.S. Department of Justice to issue a stern warning that should it “conclude that any of the returned funds had been used for an ineligible expenditure, a “claw-back” provision would then obligate the FRN (Nigeria) to replace fully any such improperly diverted monies.”

The fight-to-finish posture of the two top government officials is a big disgrace to the Buhari Administration with all its much flaunted zero tolerance for corruption. This is highly condemnable as we believe that there would be no smoke without fire.

We are quite worried that while Malami keeps hitting at Magu, as he now considers him as a rival and threat, who could expose him too, the EFCC boss is also fighting back, and hard too, with his allies also accusing Malami of alleged corruption.

They have accused the AGF of a cover-up in the Malabu oil deal trial as Malami had insisted there was no case there until Magu was said to have stood his ground. He was also accused of watering down high profile corruption cases thus frustrating EFCC’s efforts. Transparency International accused Malami of not helping the anti-corruption fight, saying the AGF has not successfully completed a single corruption case in five years as the nation’s number one law officer.

Unfortunately, the Presidency is watching the show of shame without asking the two top officials of the Buhari Administration to sheathe their swords and stop the verbal vituperations on one another.

THEWILL condemns the silence by the Presidency on this show of shame, especially as it is coming from the two frontline officials who are supposed to be championing the anti-corruption campaign of the government.

We therefore call for immediate investigations of the allegations and counter-allegations on both sides as we maintain that these cannot just be swept under the carpet or dismissed with the wave of the hand.

THEWILL considers the allegations as very serious and too weighty to be ignored if the Buhari Administration still wants to lay any claim to its avowed stance on corruption and be taken seriously.

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