Buhari Suspends Magu as EFCC chairman

Ibrahim Magu has been suspended as the acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

This development comes a day after he was arrested and detained by security operatives in Abuja.

President Muhammadu Buhari had earlier set up a presidential panel headed by Justice Ayo Salami to probe the various allegations leveled against the EFCC boss.

The panel began sitting three weeks ago, but was only able to compel Magu to appear before it on Monday.

Magu’s travails followed a memo by Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation (AGF), in which the suspended anti-graft czar was accused of grave malfeasance.

He was alleged to have mishandled the recovered loot and was selling seized assets to associates. He was also alleged to have refused to subject himself to the supervision of the office of the attorney-general.

Femi Odekunle, a member of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), had accused Malami of waging a grudge war against Magu.

He said the suspended EFCC chief is a victim of a power-play at the presidency.

But the presidential panel disclaimed the statement, saying Odekunle only spoke for himself.

In 2016, the senate declined to confirm the appointment of Magu over a Department of State Services (DSS) report which indicted him of corruption.