Magu
Malami, Bagudu and guests during the opening of the Azbir Arena said to belong to the son of the serving Attorney-General and Minister of Justice
The suspended acting Chairman of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu has asked the Justice Ayo Salami-led Presidential Panel to investigate the alleged sale of recovered assets by the office of the country’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami. The call coincided with anger in Nigeria’s social media circles over the opening of a multi-million dollar mall, the Azbir Arena said to be owned by Malami’s son. The governor of Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu was among dignitaries who joined Malami and his son during the ceremonial opening of the controversial arena.
According to Magu, the AGF, Malami, had no constitutional authority to approve the auctioning of recovered assets which according to him, is the duty and responsibility of the Minister of Finance.
The Attorney General and Minister of Justice had reportedly granted two separate approvals to an auctioneer to conduct an open bid for sale of crude oil and diesel as well as five vessels forfeited by illegal bunkering operators to the government.
However, Magu, who spoke through his Attorney, Tosin Ojaomo on Saturday, noted that the Attorney General and Minister of Justice had no power under section 174 of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution to undertake assets management, adding that the law only empowers him to institute and undertake criminal proceedings.
Ojaomo also attributed his client’s travails to unnamed detractors who he said were not comfortable with the fact that he (Magu) was remitting money directly to the Federal Government coffers.
Asked if he was demanding the probe of the AGF for alleged involvement in the sale of recovered property, the lawyer stated, “Yes, I’m calling for that; I’m calling for a probe of the AGF. Ladidi Mohammed, head of assets recovery management in the office of the AGF should be brought to the panel to tell Nigerians how much they have managed in terms of assets.
“On what grounds is the AGF appointing contractors to conduct open bid? You can see that there is a question mark on the company appointed to conduct the auction. There is one Omoh-Jay Nigeria. There is a moral burden. The same person was tried by the EFCC, the same firm was now being picked to sell the assets recovered by the EFCC.”
