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Committee: How Magu Enriched Himself As EFCC Acting Chairman, Property Worth Billions Unaccounted For

The Presidential Committee on Audit of Recovered Assets (PCARA) has accused Ibrahim Magu, the now suspended acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), of failing to give a proper account of missing 332 out of the 836 recovered real estate property in March 2018.

The Committee in a report alleged that Magu may have shortchanged the nation to the tune of tens of billions of naira. The report pointed to some prime property suspected to have been illegally acquired as well as the bank accounts of persons supposedly fronting for the suspended anti-corruption czar.

The Committee observed that: “Most of the recovered assets are allegedly sold without anyone knowing and without proper records and without recourse to the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing that has the mandate to undertake evaluation of such property.”

“Some of the assets have been taken over by EFCC officials while some are sold at giveaway prices to friends and cronies of the Acting Chairman.

“It is also on record that the (suspended) acting chairman is maintaining different accounts, including using proxies who return the benefit of the sold assets to him.

“These funds are then used to procure property and lands in the names of some of his proxies.”

There were also allegations of massive wastage and deterioration of physical assets such as landed property, cars and oil vessels and other valuables recovered by the commission simply because the Magu-led EFCC failed to properly manage those recoveries.

“A disturbing example is the two vessels that allegedly sunk at NNS Beecroft Naval BASE, Lagos and NNS Pathfinder Naval Base in Port Harcourt without trace under the watch of the acting Chairman of EFCC,” the report stated.

“The vessels named MT GOOD SUCCESS, MV PSV DERBY and MV THAMES were allowed to sink in spite of several warnings from the Navy on the need to evacuate the petroleum products in the vessels.

“The total value of the assets lost due to the negligence runs into millions of US dollars. The (suspended) acting Chairman is yet to provide a report on what happened to these vessels.”

The panel set up by the president in e few consultants hired by EFCC were not managing a substantial number of the recovered assets and that the EFCC has no capacity to manage the entire assets on its own.

The committee, therefore, alerted the nation on the economic and environmental implications of this negligent of duty by the commission.

The committee’s report submitted in 2018 noted that EFCC under Magu’s watch made conflicting submissions or returns to it in respect of the non-cash assets.

“For instance, EFCC stated 836 as the number of Recovered Real Estate in the Original Returns it made to the President on 07/04/2017,” the report read.

“However, in its 1st Returns to PCARA on 13/12/2017, EFCC short-changed the system and gave the figure of 339 thereby failing to account for 497 property.

“It is interesting to note that when the Acting Chairman was further queried on this lapse, he made further contradictory 2nd return of 504 on 09/03/2018 thereby bridging the gap to 332 property.’’

Lack of internal control mechanisms/systems within EFCC and lack of adequate returns by EFCC departments and zonal offices were pointed to as the reasons for these discrepancies and inconsistencies by the commission in its reporting.

The panel equally alleged that the suspended EFCC boss refused to comply with the regulations on the management of recovered assets, 2019, as he embarked on disposing of some of the property without regard to extant law.

“These Regulations was issued in line with international best practices and to ensure that all the anti-corruption agencies report all their recovered assets in a database provided by the Federal Government,The report read.

“It is important to note that the (suspended) Acting Chairman in apparent disregard of the regulation is disposing of these properties without regard to extant laws, and Regulations and without reference to the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and in effect, there is no way to have an audit of the property.

“This is also a clear sign that there is a deliberate attempt to hide the exact figures of recoveries, which is an indication of fraudulent intent.

“These actions of the (suspended) Ag. Chairman in refusing the Regulation is a clear case of refusal to follow lawful instructions and directives contrary to the provisions of the Act that establish the EFCC.”

Magu who has been in police custody since 6th of July is expected to answer to these allegations when he meets again with the Ayo Salami presidential panel set up to probe his management of the commission’s affairs in the last five years.

The minister supervising the EFCC, Abubakar Malami had in a memo to president Muhammadu Buhari accused the suspended Magu of insubordination, disregard for court orders and mismanagement of the funds recovered from alleged looters.

It is not yet clear if the embattled head of the anti-corruption agency would face prosecution when the Justice Ayo Salami panel submits its report to the president.

Many analysts and commentators opine that with the volume of allegations against Magu, it would not be out of place seeing him in court in the weeks ahead, defending himself against acts of corruption and gross violation of public trust.

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