Buhari intervenes in AGF, Magu’s face-off, says FG

President Muhammadu Buhari is already investigating the feud between the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), and the acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, the Minister of Information and |Culture, Lai Mohammed, disclosed. Mohammed said this during a breakfast show on Channels Television titled, ‘Sunrise Daily’ on Tuesday.

When asked to explain what caused the feud, Mohammed said, “That is what the investigation will bring out. The President is aware and is investigating it. He is the employer of both of them.” When asked if the feud between Malami and Magu would not affect the war against corruption, the minister added, “The fact that the AGF and the EFCC chairman do not see eye to eye on the methods or the approach does not mean that both of them do not believe in the ultimate which is that corruption must be addressed.

“If they disagree on approach, then the President will look into the matter and make his pronouncement. He will ask why the AGF is taking such a position and why the EFCC chairman is taking another position. This, to me, is a purely administrative matter and if it is not, Mr President will take appropriate action.”

The AGF and the EFCC boss have been involved in a feud which became public knowledge about a month ago. Malami had specifically blamed Magu for causing the suspension of Nigeria from the Egmont Group, an international anti-corruption body with over 135 member countries. The AGF had also accused the EFCC boss of breaching Section 10 (1) of the EFCC Act which states that the EFCC must send complex cases to the AGF for better cooperation and prosecution.

Mohammed admitted that there was a disagreement between the EFCC boss and the AGF but added that it was not as bad as it was being portrayed. He said both parties had the best interest of Nigeria at heart but only differed on approach and methodology. Asked if the feud was not a signal that the anti-corruption war lacked coordination, Mohammed said, “There are divergent views between the AGF and the EFCC chairman and the appropriate authorities will look into it.”

The minister also defended the Federal Government’s delay in obeying the order of a Federal High Court which ordered on July 5, 2017 that the Federal Government should release information on people who had returned stolen funds and how much was collected from them. The minister said publishing the list could be inimical to the war against corruption and so certain things must be considered before the order was obeyed. “There will be other considerations that the government will examine before it is made public. It depends on the outcome of the consideration before it is published. It also depends on if the release will not tamper with the fight against corruption. “It is not tantamount to contempt of court process,” Mohammed added.

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