EFCC never fails to take up any corruption case reported to it —Magu

The acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu on Tuesday said, while it was not possible for the agency to see or know all issues of corruption all over the country, that there had never been any case reported to the commission which it failed to take up.

He also decried insinuations in some quarters that the commission engages in selective investigation or witch-hunt, saying that such misconceptions had been peddled only by the corrupt members of the society.

Magu stated this while calling for active participation of Nigerians in the ongoing war against corruption, which according to him, “is a collective responsibility”.

He spoke in Lagos during an interactive session organised by Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA) with the theme: “Strengthening Citizens Resistance Against Prevalence of Corruption”.

Magu, who was represented by Ayo Oyewole, Head, Public Affairs, EFCC Lagos zonal office also decried the apathy towards the war against corruption and economic and financial crimes by some Nigerians.

He said, “Everybody is important to our efforts to sanitize the country. What you are doing is to stimulate a conversation towards deepening the citizens’ participation in the fight against corruption.

“We can’t do it alone and we are not pretending that we can do it alone. That is the reason we have always collaborated with relevant organizations and critical stakeholders, including the Nigeria Orientation Agency, NOA, Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, religious bodies, youth groups, Non-governmental Organisations, NGOs, among others, in the country.”

On claims that the commission engages in a selective investigation or witch-hunt, he explained that everybody who has been accused of one form of infraction or another cannot be said to have not committed any act of corruption.

“Though it is not possible for us to see or know all issues of corruption all over the country, there has not been any case that was reported to us and we did not take up. Every petition received by the EFCC is given equal treatment.

“In other words, we treat each petition strictly on merit to forestall the possibility of anyone using the EFCC to settle a score.”

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Explaining the modus operandi of the commission, especially with regard to any petition received, he said, “We engage in preliminary investigation for due diligence to ascertain the merit of the facts as alleged in the petitions.

“Then, if we establish that the allegations are on merit, we will go after the accused.

“So, it is wrong to say or even think that the EFCC is selective of cases it handles. We work within the ambit of the Law.”

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