Facts have emerged on why President Muhammadu Buhari is reluctant to remove the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu following the rejection of his nomination by the Nigerian Senate. A source in the Presidency who craved anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the issue disclosed to Vigil360 that the President, Muhammadu Buhari has no confidence in the Police.
He said security reports on some of the nominees submitted to him by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) were discouraging and their appointment could derail his intention in the war against corruption.
The source added that though the President knows that the intelligence report on which the Senate based Magu's disqualification had an element of truth, he was caught in a dilemma. He hinted that the President may consider the appointment of an Acting Chairman from another agency upon his return is the issue rears its ugly head in the Senate. This according to him would pacify the Senate and douse the already heightened tension.
Recall that Magu was rejected by the Senate after the Department of State Services (DSS) wrote that he could constitute a liability to the administration's quest to fight corruption headlong. The DSS claimed that its position was based on Magu's antecedents as well as some recent corrupt practices.
Magu failed to defend himself when he appeared before the Senate for confirmation, a development that gave more credence to the intelligence report. Under his watch, several high profile corruption cases have been thrown out by court due to perceived incompetence. Recently, EGMONT suspended Nigeria over an allegation that Magu was sharing confidential information to the media. The suspension forced the Senate to commence move toward separating the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Agency from the EFCC.
The EGMONT Group is a network of national financial intelligence units and the highest inter-governmental association of intelligence agencies in the world, with 154 member countries including Britain and the U.S.
