Not a few Nigerians wished the news away when it first broke on Monday July 6, that security agents have arrested the acting Chairman of Nigeria’s anti-corruption police, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu. “That cannot be true”, many of them said as they dismissed the breaking news with a wave of the hand, describing it as one of those fake news Nigerians are treated to daily, especially on the social media.
But as seconds turned into minutes and minutes to hours, the news began to gain traction, especially in the mainstream media, and it began to sink in that the mighty are indeed falling and Nigeria’s dreaded anti-corruption Czar has gone, or is going the way of his predecessors; hounded out of office with ignominy.
Like Nuhu Ribadu, Farida Waziri and Ibrahim Lamorde before him, Ibrahim Magu, also a police officer like his predecessors, is being thrown out of office with a big question mark hanging over his integrity. He’s being accused of various forms of misdeeds, notably corruption, which if proven, will put a huge credibility problem on the Federal Government anti-corruption drive (if you are an opponent of the Muhammadu Buhari administration) or reinforce the government‘s anti-graft Credentials (if you are a supporter).
Quite a number of those allegations against Magu are not new and most Nigerians were not surprised to hear them as they have been in the news almost permanently since Magu was named acting chairman of the agency by President Muhammadu Buhari in November 2015.
What was a surprise though to many, was the arrest of Magu on the orders of a committee set up by the Buhari administration. The surprise is made more shocking by the fact that the President had refused all attempts in the past, especially by the last Senate under Dr Bukola Saraki, to get Magu off the agency by not confirming his appointment. Several times, he was rejected by that Senate each time Buhari represented him until there was an impasse and the President decided to leave him as EFCC boss but in acting capacity, which was within his powers to do. Not even an indicting report by the Department of State Security (DSS), Nigeria’s secret police against Magu could change Buhari’s mind against him. Many saw that as a show of implicit confidence in the police officer by the President.
For Buhari to now turn round against the same person he had supported all his presidency was not only a surprise but could be an indication of the emergence of a Buhari we haven’t seen before, shorn of the chronic cronyism he had been accused of several times. Is the President changing? Is he ready now to be President of everybody and nobody? Or could it be, as being speculated, that Magu had stepped on some too powerful toes within Buhari’s inner circle that even his membership of that circle or in Nigeria’s political lingo, cabal, could not save him.
Or could it be, in the words of Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, that corruption (after almost five years of relentless battle by Magu’s EFCC) is fighting back, most viciously against its nemesis. Recall that Soyinka, some years back postulated that when you fight corruption, it has the capacity and tendency to wanting to fight back. Are we there now? Has the fight back begun?
These are questions that would have to be answered by the presidential panel/commission of enquiry set up by President Buhari to look into the serious allegations leveled against Magu, especially as contained in a memo by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, who has been a thorn in the flesh of Magu for some time now. Headed by Justice Ayo Salami, whose retirement from the Court of Appeal during Goodluck Jonathan’s presidency drew a lot of criticism following Jonathan’s blatant refusal to name him president of the appellate court, in spite of being the next in line and most qualified, the commission would not only determine the guilt or otherwise of Magu but most probably the future of EFCC itself against the backdrop of perceived selective implementation of its mandate.
With Justice Salami looking into the allegations against Magu, the embattled former EFCC boss is expected to get a fair hearing going by the antecedents of the retired judge, who was known as a man and judge of high integrity. Anything less than this will not only be unwelcome but will be a disservice to all the efforts Nigeria has put into its much vaunted fight against corruption. KaftanPost expects nothing less from the Justice Salami committee.
While the merits or otherwise of the allegations against Magu should be left to the investigating committee to determine, the suggestion that his travails could be the handiwork of those corrupt persons the EFCC under him has brought to book should be of public interest and deserves proper investigation by security agents outside of the police, especially the Department of State Security. Names of some powerful toes that Magu stepped on while in charge, who might have an axe or two to grind with him, have been mentioned in the media. Even though they have denied anything of such, it is our expectation that this angle will not be ignored by security agents in the course of their investigations. As the saying goes, there’s no smoke without fire, after all, some of his predecessors actually fell from grace after bruising their hands in pursuit of high profile targets.
KaftanPost recalls the eventual downfall of pioneer chairman of EFCC, Nuhu Ribadu, after he brought a former Inspector General of Police, Tafa Balogun to book following a damning corruption indictment and trial. The indictment forced IGP Balogun out of office, charged and even brought to court in handcuffs.
Though Ribadu was hailed by Nigerians for this, that was the beginning of his end in the Nigeria Police as the Force did not have a place for him after he was booted out of EFCC. Even his controversial promotion to the rank of an Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) did not seem to satisfy those in the Force who felt his treatment of IGP Balogun was disrespectful not only to the man but also to the Nigeria Police. Ribadu had to go and his subsequent foray into the murky waters of Nigerian politics has been less than successful compared to his time at EFCC.
Both AIG Waziri and AIG Lamorde equally had turbulent tenures. The trend seems to be that no matter how good you served as EFCC boss, disgrace awaits at the end. This is worrisome and could deter others from willing to serve the nation at that level. The more reason why the allegations against Magu should be properly and fairly investigated and if found guilty should face the wrath of the law. But if found innocent, should not only be recalled to office but promoted to the next rank in the police. He deserves no less.
The move against Magu by President Buhari deserves a closer look. Often accused of shielding members of his inner circle, even after seemingly being found wanting, making a scapegoat out of the troubled EFCC Chief could be Buhari’s way of saying there is no sacred cow in his administration. If so, this would be a welcome rebirth for a leader from whom much was expected by Nigerians but little has been delivered so far. Nepotism has been a recurring decimal in his administration and it’s about time he took a stand on this. And what better scapegoat to use than the head of his anti-corruption effort, for an administration that prides itself as fighter against corruption. If this was the case and Magu was indeed found guilty, so be it.
But Buhari should go a step further and extend this ruthless streak to other facets of his administration. There are too many sacred cows around him that Nigerians would want to be dealt with. It’s about time the so-called cabal is dismantled.
