Alleged Fraud: See Why Magu May Be Recommended For Demotion

The suspended acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu, might be demoted from his position as Commissioner of Police to Deputy Commissioner of Police or Assistant Commissioner of Police if he found guilty of any allegations levelled against him by the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami.

The Police Service Commission had promoted Magu to the rank of Commissioner of Police following his appointment by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.

Recall that the suspended EFCC boss was arrested on July 6th by security operatives while on his way to a meeting and was taken before the presidential panel led by Justice Ayo Salami.

Magu was, however, released on bail after ten days in custody at Area 10, Force Criminal Inves­tigation Department (FCID) and has since been replaced by Mohammed Umar, a Deputy Commissioner of Police.

A top security source while speaking Daily Independent on Sunday noted that there is no way the suspend EFCC boss can be exonerated from the allegations against him and the likelihood of his return as EFCC chairman is “very remote”.

The source said, “since the allegations against him are coming from the supervising minister in charge of the agency he heads, that is the Attorney-General and Min­ister of Justice, Abubakar Malami. It is a different thing if the petition came from the opposition parties or civil so­ciety organisations.”

“No public official can es­cape a hostile investigation such as the one he is being subjected to. He may have committed some infractions no doubt. But those behind the probe are also not clean,”

The source when asked if the trail against Magu has any political undertone, stated that some people in the Commission are not happy with Magu for refusing to investigate the petitions written against the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu.

The source added that the trial also has to do with the race for the 2023 presidential election.

“It has everything to do with 2023. They see him as Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s man. Some persons within the sys­tem want EFCC to go after him which Magu has failed to do.”

When asked if Magu can return to his position, the source said “He can never return. He is gone for good, In fact, he may be recommended for de­motion to the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police or Assistant Commissioner of Police”.

He added that Magu has been having issues with the Police Service Commission, the body saddled with the responsibility of dismissing and exercising disciplinary control over po­lice officers in the country, except the IGP.

He said, “The DSS report of 2016 that allegedly indict­ed Magu said in December 2010, the Police Service Com­mission (PSC) found Magu guilty of action prejudicial to state security – withholding of EFCC files, sabotage, un­authorised removal of EFCC files and acts unbecoming of a police officer, and awarded him severe reprimand as pun­ishment”.