The Presidential probe panel investigating corruption allegations against the suspended acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Magu has started probing the relationship between Magu and a Bureau De Change based in Kaduna.
Sources close to the panel told Saturday Vanguard, that the embattled EFCC boss who was suspended by President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday, is expected to respond to the discovery by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU, that he allegedly has connection with the said Bureau De Change.
Magu is also expected to explain what he knew about humongous sums of money discovered by the NFIU, from a relatively unknown Lagos based Pastor who was said to be his associate.
Besides, the NFIU was said to have also discovered another N28 million taken from the same Bureau De Change by a well known Lagos based lawyer.
The source said, “From the issues before the committee, there are two big issues concerning Bureau De Change being allegedly linked to Magu in Kaduna and that Bureau De Change has been discovered by the NFIU to have transacted business in the region of N336 billion, $435 million and about 14 million Euros.
There was another allegation against Magu that a relatively unknown Pastor in Lagos who was linked with Magu was discovered to have N573 million in his account. Also, there was a famous lawyer in Lagos, who took N28 million from the Bureau De Change.”
Meanwhile, some unknown people allegedly broke into the new office of the NFIU and destroyed computers containing certain vital and sensitive documents that could help in the investigation of the former EFCC boss. Some officials of the NFIU were said to have appeared before the Justice Ayo Salami panel, investigating Magu on Thursday to clarify certain grey areas especially, as relating to some accounts suspected to have been used to move money.
The NFIU officials it was gathered told the panel that by their operational protocols and procedure, they didn’t go about with such documents. They advised members of the panel to visit their office on Friday morning to sight the documents requested for.
However, it was alleged that before the panel members got to the NFIU office Friday morning, some unknown people had broken into their office, went straight to the room, where the documents were stored in the computers and destroyed them all.
Recall that the NFIU was the agency that investigated all the allegations of financial malfeasance against Magu, in addition to the fact that the agency was only recently severed from the EFCC.
Magu appeared at the panel for the 5th day about 10am. Sources at the venue, the Old Banquet Hall had told Saturday Vanguard that the embattled anti-corruption Czar had developed running nose on Thursday which prompted the invitation of some medical experts to attend to him.
Magu and the panel members, it was gathered left the venue about 7pm.
VANGUARD
