Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, has said the invitation and grilling of the suspended acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu, by the Justice Ayo Salami-led Presidential panel was in his best interest.
Adesina stated this during an interview on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ programme.
The President’s spokesman noted that Magu, who was released on Wednesday after 10 days in police custody, was not on trial but only invited to tell the panel all he knew about the goings on at the EFCC, especially since 2015 when he was appointed the head of the anti-graft agency.
Asked whether Magu’s prolonged detention was legal, Adesina answered, “If anything illegal has been done, there are ways to seek redress for it but I think it is in the best interest of everybody including Magu for the panel to have invited him to hear his side of the story.
“I can tell you on authority that before this became a public issue, the panel had been sitting for weeks and when the panel established some grounds for Mr. Magu to be invited, the President then gave approval for him to be invited and he was invited and he came.”
He added that Magu was suspended to give room for a seamless investigation.
The President’s aide described Magu’s investigation as a credit to the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
He added that Magu’s probe was evidence that no one was above the law.
But Magu’s lawyer, Mr. Tosin Ojaomo, who was also on the programme, said all the allegations levelled against his client were false.
Ojaomo, however, declined to respond when asked if Magu would be challenging his suspension.
Magu was accused of being unable to account for the interest accrued to N550billion recovered funds.
The suspended EFCC boss was also accused of buying a property in Dubai worth over N500million.