Effort to downplay rift between Malami, Magu fails, as conflict escalates

Claims that there was no rift between the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, and the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), have been cast into serious doubt as the Special Assistant to the President on Prosecutions, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, has told Magu to act on the order given by the Malami or face “consequences for insubordination.”

The AGF had ordered the EFCC boss to forward to him the case files of ex-governors, including: Bukola Saraki (Kwara, now Senate President ); Ali Modu Sheriff (Borno); Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom); Sule Lamido (Jigawa); Gbenga Daniel (Ogun); Achike Udenwa (Imo); Ubong Victor Attah (Akwa Ibom); Jolly Nyame (Taraba); Rasheed Ladoja (Oyo); Adebayo Alao-Akala (Oyo); Joshua Dariye (Plateau ); Ahmed Yerima (Zamfara ); and Gabriel Suswam (Benue), among others.

The EFCC boss was said to have withheld the requested files from the AGF since July 2016 when he was first asked to turn them over.

Magu is also yet to honour the follow-up request which was made on August 1, 2017.

Following news reports about disagreements between the EFCC and the AGF’s office over the issue, the EFCC had Thursday dismissed the reports as false, underscoring its compliance with all stipulated procedures and extant laws.

Its spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, said “For the avoidance of any doubt, the EFCC wishes to categorically state that it is in compliant with all provisions of law, and has no intention to stoke misunderstanding over requests from the office of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice.”

Read also: EFCC attempts to fault claims it’s in face-off with AGF Malami

But in a follow-up development effectively contradicting the denials of the rift by the EFCC, Obono-Obla, in strongly-worded comments, stated that the renewed August 1 letter to the EFCC requesting files of indicted former governors and senators was yet to be honoured by the EFCC, even though the request had been pending since last year.

He interpreted the refusal to comply as insubordination, and warned of dire consequences.

He added that the EFCC was not more patriotic than the office of the AGF, stating that the commission must involve the minister in any case that is above N50m.

He 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. 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.”

Observers will be waiting to see how events will unfold in this apparent disagreement that is now full-blown. Many have interpreted the rift as another attempt by allegedly corrupt powerful politicians, using the AGF’s office, to sabotage the anti-corruption war.

Some argue that since the EFCC is by its very design expected to act as an independent body, such requests from Malami may border on interference.

They maintain that this is especially so because the office of the AGF and Minister of Justice is yet to be separated to allow for true independence and neutrality.

 

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