WHO sent some security agents to
the home of the President’s Chief of Staff (COS), Mr. Abba Kyari, on January 7?
That was the poser raised in
intelligence circles yesterday amid indication of a fresh plot to remove
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Acting Chairman Ibrahim Magu by
implicating him in the alleged “phantom invasion” of Kyari’s residence.
The EFCC said yesterday that it
was not investigating Kyari, adding that it did not deploy its operatives in
his Defence House quarters.
The alleged invasion was said to
have been hatched by some forces and targeted at provoking President Muhammadu
Buhari to sack Magu.
According to the Nation, it
learnt that some security agents were deployed in the highly fortified Defence
House in the night to protect Kyari from being arrested.
It was learnt that soldiers at
the sentry did not allow the agents in because there were no EFCC operatives in
sight.
The security men merely acted on
“false alert”, it was learnt.
A source, who pleaded not to be
named because of the “sensitivity of the matter”, said: “In the past few weeks,
the plot to remove Magu has been heightened by some forces who are still
uncomfortable with his continued stay in office. Apart from the attack on his
farmhouse, he has been receiving threat messages and representations by some
National Assembly members to sack him. It has reached a level that Magu now
keeps his itinerary to himself and aborts some official trips.
“The phantom attempt to arrest
the Chief of Staff was a script to create a wedge between the Presidency and
Magu because EFCC operatives were not deployed in Defence House penultimate
Sunday.
“The military sentry at the
Defence House was shocked to see a deployment of some security agents coming at
midnight to protect the Chief of Staff without any signal of a threat to his
life or plans to arrest him.
“The armed soldiers insisted on a
directive from above before the security agents could gain access to the
Defence House. They turned back the operatives from the House.
“It was obvious that the security
agents acted on a false alert because when calls were placed to Magu, he said
he did not order any operation. This development buoyed the determination of
the soldiers in Defence House to resist the security agents.”
The source added: “Some forces
were just desperate to take advantage of any situation to get Magu out of
EFCC.”
In a statement last night by its
Acting Head of Media and Publicity, Samie Amaddin, the EFCC said it was not
probing Kyari and did not make any attempt to arrest him.
“Ordinarily, we would have
ignored the report and allow it to end up in the dustbin of history, for that
is where it actually belongs, but for the fact that it is a follow–up to an
earlier similar report also titled: EFCC’s attempt to arrest Abba Kyari sparks
panic in Aso Rock, which we considered an attempt to silence the commission
from carrying on with its constitutional duties of fighting corruption; we have
considered it necessary to clarify issues in relation thereof.
“For the purpose of
clarification, the modus operandi of the EFCC does not accommodate the alleged
invasion as the modus operandi of the commission has always been to scrutinise
petitions upon receipt, look at the petition on the face value, if it has merit
and to carry out preliminary investigation to establish a prima facie case.
“Once all these requirements are
satisfied, the suspect(s) is (are) invited for questioning and interrogation
and his (their) statement(s) taken under caution.
“All these are prelude to arraignment
in a competent court of jurisdiction and a suspect who is being invited for
interrogation is formally sent an invitation letter to that effect.
“The so-called invasion is
entirely alien to the established mode of operations of the EFCC, established
over the last one-and-a-half decades in line with international best practices.
“Firstly, the commission will
like to state that it is not investigating Mr. Kyari nor is it aware of any
petition against him.
“Secondly, EFCC does not ‘invade’ the homes or offices
of anyone the commission wishes to interact with in furtherance of the
discharge of its mandate.
“The commission will properly
notify and invite any person it wants to assist it in the resolution of any
matter under examination.
“Thirdly, EFCC does not go to
carry out invitations or arrests in the middle of the night. As a transparent
organisation the commission carries out all its operations in broad daylight.
“These and other standard
operational procedures are what guide the activities of the commission and
which have earned it worldwide acclaim over the years.
“The commission was therefore
taken aback when an online medium went public with the story of a purported
“impending arrest”. EFCC does not do speculative investigations or arrests.
Therefore, the action of those behind the false reports could best be described
as shouting wolf where none exists.
“It must be underscored that EFCC
makes it a point of duty and professional responsibility to act within the
ambit of the law. The commission cannot be intimated and crying wolf by anyone
cannot stop the commission from carrying out its constitutional responsibility.”
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