The lawyer to Ibrahim Magu, the suspended Acting Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Oluwatosin Ojaomo, on Friday, applied for an administrative bail at the force headquarters for Magu, who is facing corruption charges before a presidential panel.
Mr. Ojaomo told Vanguard that he filed the application to the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Mohammed Adamu, on the grounds that it is Magu’s right as a Nigerian citizen and as a serving Commissioner of Police to be granted bail, as the allegations against him are bailable.
Ojaomo said he reminded the IGP of his “recent directives to all police formations in Nigeria not to detain any suspect for any offence that is bailable in nature due to the COVID-19 pandemic that is ravaging the world, to which Nigeria is not an exemption.”
He said he believes the IGP Adamu will grant the application, in line with his avowed commitment to the rule of law, which he has displayed since his assumption of office.
Magu, who has been in detention since his arrest on Monday, has been appearing before the panel from his detention base at Force Criminal Investigations Department, Area 10, Abuja.
The lawyer’s letter dated July 10 with the IGP office’s acknowledgment stamp bearing the same date, requested that Magu be granted bail “on self-recognisance.”
The letter, which was copied to President Muhammadu Buhari and the Chairman of the Presidential Probe Panel, Justice Ayo Salami said: “Finally, if our application for bail on self-recognisance is not acceptable, we are ready to provide a credible surety that will ensure the availability of our client anytime he is needed for the purpose of this investigation.”
It was also copied to the Chairman of Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption, Prof Itsay Sagay (SAN), and DIG Ogbizi, Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Investigation, Federal Criminal Investigation Department, Garki Area 10, Abuja, where Magu is said to be detained.
Below is a copy of Magu’s letter to IGP for bail:
