Magu must face prosecution — PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said the suspended acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu must be made to face prosecution.

President Muhammadu Buhari suspended Magu over corruption allegations levelled against him.

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Magu reportedly spent a night in police cell at the Force Criminal Investigation Department Headquarters in Area 10, Garki, Abuja, after he was quizzed on Monday, by a presidential panel, chaired by a former President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami.

The PDP in a statement on Wednesday, by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, argued that “the revelations” of diversion of recovered funds and fraudulent sale of assets seized by the EFCC among other sleazes, as detailed in the memo by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami as well as the report of the Department of State Services (DSS) were good reasons for his prosecution.

The party said that Magu’s indictment reinforced its position that the much-hyped war against corruption by the EFCC, under his watch, has been a huge scam by corrupt individuals to cover the plundering of public resources, harass political opponents, intimidate and extort money from innocent Nigerians.

The statement asked President Buhari to enforce the law by directing relevant agencies to commence actions that would lead to Magu’s prosecution in the court.

“The development has also exposed why corruption has worsened under the Buhari administration, as documented by credible international organisations, including the Transparency International (TI).

“It is a big embarrassment to our nation, that the head of anti-corruption agency in an administration led by the African Union (AU) anti-corruption champion and which prides itself on zero tolerance for corruption, is being dragged in allegation of looting recovered fund and other barefaced frauds.

“Now that the racket has been exposed, the onus lies on President Muhammadu Buhari to clean his Augean stable by not sweeping the matter under the carpet or seeking to provide soft landing for the indicted EFCC boss and shield him from prosecution.

“What Nigerians expect at this moment is for President Buhari to enforce the law by directing relevant agencies to commence actions that would lead to Magu’s prosecution in the court. Anything short of this will not be acceptable to Nigerians,” the PDP said.