The suspended acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Ibrahim Magu has named a number of institutions and government agencies that benefitted from the recovered loots.
This is contained in a letter titled: “Re: Alleged Case of Conspiracy, Enrichment, Abuse of Public Office and Other Infractions,” which his lawyer attempted to submit to the Justice Ayo Salami-led presidential panel investigating him. The letter was in response to an earlier report by the Presidential Committee on Audit of Recovered Assets in which Magu was accused of being unable to account for the interest accrued to N550 billion recovered funds as well as recovered vehicles and houses.
Magu said in the letter that some of the agencies which received the vehicles on auction had not paid for them and that there was an arrangement that the money would be deducted from their financial allocations.
According to him, some of those recovered by the EFCC were auctioned to the Presidential Villa, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development as well as the Federal Inland Revenue Services and other agencies.
“The commission presently has presidential approval to dispose over 450 forfeited vehicles located in Lagos and Abuja. The vehicles have been valued by the National Automotive Council Valuers and the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing. But no sale/disposal has been conducted yet.”
Magu said that some houses permanently forfeited to the Federal Government by looters have also been handed over to some government agencies like the Voice of Nigeria, North -East Development Commission and the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate.
It was gathered that the panel insisted it would not accept the letter which Magu’s lawyer, Wahab Shittu attempted to submit on Monday.
“An attempt to submit the letter to the secretary of the panel on Monday failed. Magu’s team was informed that the panel does not entertain letters but it is purely an investigative one. If there is a need for clarification, Magu would be invited,” a source was quoted saying.
Magu was arrested by the police on July 6, detained for about 10 days and made to appear before the investigative panel on a daily basis.
Source: The Punch.
