N13billion Ikoyi cash: Osinbajo-led panel quizzes Magu, others
- The three-man presidential committee investigating the N13billion recovered cash in Ikoyi have interrogated EFCC acting chairman Ibrahim Magu
- The committee also interrogated the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris and the Director-General of the Department of State Security (DSS), Malam Lawal Daura over the issue
- Magu denies appearing before the panel
Ibrahim Magu, the acting chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), was on Thursday, April 20, quizzed by the three-man presidential committee investigating the discovery of $43.4m (N13billion) in a residential apartment at Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos state.
According to a report on Daily Trust, Magu faced the panel for over one hour at the Vice President's Wing of the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja.
He thereafter headed for the office of the Chief of Staff Abba Kyari.
Magu however denied appearing before the panel when Vanguard asked about his visit to Osinbajo’s office, venue of the meeting.
The EFCC acting chairman said that he attended Assets Recovery Committee meeting.
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“I went for Assets Recovery meeting”, he said.
The committee, headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, also interrogated the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris and the Director-General of the Department of State Security (DSS), Malam Lawal Daura, over the issue.
However, none of them spoke to state House correspondents before leaving the Presidential Villa.
Earlier, Legit.ng had reported that a whistle-blower tip led operatives of the EFCC to Osborne towers in Ikoyi where $43,449,947, £27,800 and N23,218,000 were recovered.
Later, reports filtered in that the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) claimed the EFCC operation has bungled a covert security operation and that the fund actually belonged to the agency.
According to Ayo Oke, suspended director general of the NIA, the fund was approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) during the administration of Goodluck Jonathan for an operation although this was not revealed to the new administration.
A court granted a temporary forfeiture of the fund to the federal government although President Muhammadu Buhari later ordered the money back to the CBN while preliminary investigation is being carried out.
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President Buhari suspended Ayo Oke and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal on Wednesday, April 19 and set up a three-man committee made up of Abubakar Malami, the attorney-general of the federation; Babagana Monguno who is the national security adviser and vice president Professor Yemi Osinbajo to carry out a two weeks investigation and report its finding.
The panel was tasked with the responsibility of investigating “circumstances in which the NIA came into possession of the funds, how and by whose or which authority the funds were made available to the NIA, and to establish whether or not there has been a breach of the law or security procedure in obtaining custody and use of the funds,”
The committee is also investigating the allegations of violations of law and due process made against Babachir Lawal, in the award of contracts under the Presidential Initiative on the North East.
In the video below, Legit.ng asks Nigerians if they believe President Buhari has taken the country out of recession as stated in a recent report. Watch:
Source: Legit.ng
