The Special Assistant to the
President on Prosecutions, Okoi Obono-Obla, has said there will be consequences
for the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
Ibrahim Magu, if the anti-graft agency fails to act on the letter written to
him by Abubakar Malami, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and
Minister of Justice.
The AGF, in a letter dated August
1, 2017 had ordered Magu to forward to his office the outcome of investigations
along with its recommendations on “serious or complex” cases.
The letter is said to be a
follow-up to one written to the commission in July 2016, also requesting for
the files of indicted former governors and senators.
However, in an interview with Punch, Obono-Obla warned that Magu’s refusal to obey the AGF’s order will bring about consequences for “indiscipline and insubordination”.
He said the office of the AGF
requested the case files to enable it carry out its oversight functions.
He also refuted the claims that
there is a personality clash between the AGF and Magu.
Obono-Obla said: “A letter dated
August 1, 2017, was written to the EFCC,
urging the commission to comply with the EFCC Enforcement Regulation that was made in 2010.
urging the commission to comply with the EFCC Enforcement Regulation that was made in 2010.
The regulation requires that in any case above N50m, the EFCC
must carry along the office of the AGF from investigation to prosecution.
“The letter was about the case
files because if the cases are not well prepared, the office of the AGF will be
blamed for it. So, the office wants to carry out its oversight function.
“The EFCC cannot be more
patriotic than the office of the AGF. Why is it that the EFCC is not
cooperating when we are working for the same government?
“If the EFCC refuses to act on
the letter, there will be consequences on acts of indiscipline and
insubordination.
“There is no personality clash
between the two heads. It is wrong to say that there is a clash. The EFCC is an
institution and the office of the AGF is another institution. What we need is
compliance. We should not personalise our institutions.”
If all the money said to have been recovered were channeled into people-oriented government projects, we would gradually be inching out of recession. Magu cooperate.
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