https://www.vigil360.com.ng/politics/20-latest-news/405-magu-one-drama-too-many.html For the pedestrian onlooker, the last few months have been eventful, even entertaining in the now obviously scandalous manner the EFCC has carried about its duties.
But for the discerning citizen, there is more to the drama than meets the eyes, writes Greene Eboa.

The attendant media trials and reckless propaganda orchestrated by EFCC frittering away millions of public fund in the process betrays the much-vaunted mischief that the whistleblowing policy is yielding results.

For the pedestrian onlooker, the last few months have been eventful, even entertaining in the now obviously scandalous manner the EFCC has carried about its duties. But for the discerning citizen, there is more to the drama than meets the eyes. While the former may be drawn to believe the carefully scripted impression that there is now an all-out war against corruption, the latter is worried over the sudden upscale in discoveries of humongous amounts of money especially since the latest rejection of the nomination of Ibrahim Magu for confirmation as substantive Chairman of EFCC by the Senate.

While organisations, whether private or public, routinely engage in propaganda for myriad of reasons, going overboard with it can be counterproductive. The EFCC under Magu, especially since his rejection, has sustained a kind of propaganda that is now tearing apart Government agencies that should ordinarily be on the same page in the fight against corruption.

In a style never before seen and quite fitting for Hollywood productions, the Commission now embarks on raids with a full retinue of video production and media crew. In a tragic contradiction of its underlying investigative principles, EFCC operatives under clear but misleading directives from Magu, now embark on operations with a conviction that the mere identification of a suspect of economic crime is itself enough indictment of crime and corruption.

The latest national embarrassment stemming from its hasty disclosure of raids at the Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos may yet be a trailer to a horror movie on how the Commission eventually bungles its mandate and destroying in its wake, the central policy thrust of Government as well as jeopardising strategic national security interests.

In its most recent drama instalment, the EFCC recovered $43.4m, £27,000 and N23m cash and not long after, its proxies across the media had rolled out names of purported owners of the cache of cash. It turned out none of the names owned the cash after NIA was forced to come clean on the matter. It also emerged that the now embattled DG-NIA had made failed attempts to reach Magu prior to the raid. He was obviously denied audience because it was off-script – the Commission was in a haste to premiere the latest episode of its movie.

A phenomenon has since emerged over the recent discoveries by EFCC. Since March, 2017, all the recovered caches of cash at various locations from Kaduna to Lagos are yet to be claimed by anyone. It should naturally raise concerns that the genre of whistle-blowers Magu has breed across Nigeria are inexplicably only able to signpost locations of "abandoned" cash and not the owner(s). From the N49m at Kaduna Airport on March 14 to the April 7 recovery of N449m worth of cash in various currencies at an abandoned Bureau De Change at NAF Complex, Victoria Island and a similar recovery of N250m at Balogun Market in Lagos on April 10, not one individual has been linked to these sums. Throw in the Osborne recovery and a charade has never been more ignominious.

That Magu quickly runs to the courts to secure an order of interim, and eventually, perpetual forfeiture of the recovered funds, does little to mitigate this shame of a drama. If anything, it proves a tragic irony of EFCC fraudulently conscripting an unsuspecting Judiciary into a pattern of corruption unseen since corruption became a national albatross in this part of the world.

The prevailing situation is worsened by the contemplation that Magu may simply be recycling already recovered funds (for which he admitted ignorance of the total sum) in custody of the Commission. This very possible but troubling scenario explains more than any other reason, the several "orphan" monies. Never in the 14 years history of EFCC has its head exhibited such desperation for relevance as Magu has suddenly become.

What quickly comes to mind is that the DSS has warned that Magu "will eventually constitute a liability to the anti-corruption drive of the present administration." If he remains at the helms of affairs at the EFCC, asides the anti-corruption policy, the overall interest of the nation may be jeopardised by the antics of one man driven by personal vendetta, ego-tripping and unpardonable inefficiency disguised in a facade of anti-corruption campaign.

Amidst the plethora of human assets available to the Government, Nigerians should be worried that a “liability” continues to lead the fight against some of the worst monsters of the nation. These and many other ills call for a rethink of Magu who have been outrightly rejected by the representatives of the Nigerian people in no other than the Senate. The time for Magu to exit the anti-corruption scene is no more imminent than now.

Greene Eboa writes from Kaduna.

magu in trouble. or is this corruption fighting back?