A Lagos- base Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has urged the Nigerian authorities to treat the case of the acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, fairly by giving him the right to fair trial.
SERAP has also expressed concerns about reports that the apparently arbitrary arrest of the acting chairman of EFCC, Magu, might be the outcome of power-play at the highest levels of government.
Mr. Magu is reportedly still being detained in police custody on the orders of a presidential panel probing alleged infractions against him.
A member of the Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption (PACAC) has reportedly stated that Magu’s arrest might be due to an outcome of power-play by power blocs in the corridors of power that is not really interested in or in support of President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption fight.
The organisation in a statement signed by its deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the said: “The reported statement by a member of PACAC seems to suggest that Magu’s arrest may be politically motivated and aim to undermine the independence and freedom of action of the EFCC.
“If true, this would make a mockery of Buhari’s oft-repeated commitment to fight grand corruption and the impunity of perpetrators, which is fuelling widespread and systemic corruption in the country.”
The statement read in part: “SERAP urges the authorities to afford Magu his constitutionally and internationally guaranteed fair trial rights. Magu must either be charged with a recognizable criminal offence or released immediately and allowed to do his job without fear of reprisals.
