The acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, was on Monday quizzed by a presidential panel for six hours at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Inaugurated about a week ago, the panel consists of a former president of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami (retd.) as head, alongside about seven other members including the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Mike Ogbizi.
The panel also had representatives from the Office of the National Security Adviser, the DSS and other related agencies.
Earlier on Monday, Magu was whisked away to the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) who were in mufti.
Magu’s security details, it was learnt, put up resistance but cooled off when the DSS operatives revealed they were following presidential orders.
It was learnt that 24 allegations were levelled against Magu; most of them stemming from a report by the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), and a DSS report which was submitted to the Senate in 2016 and 2017.
The EFCC chief was accused of living above his means, fraternising with corrupt persons, diversion of recovered funds, insubordination and many others.
Magu, who spent the night in a police cell, might be asked to step down pending the outcome of investigation.
A top source told The PUNCH: “The usual procedure is that when one is facing an investigation of this nature, he would be advised to step down.
“This is because the EFCC is the face of this government’s anti-corruption crusade and keeping Magu there amid this investigation could present a moral challenge.
“I understand that he has been advised to hand over to the next most senior director but he is being adamant.”
It is believed that the Governor of Central Bank, Godwin Emefiele, and the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, would appear before the panel to make reports on the funds and real estates recovered by the EFCC in order to reconcile them with the records being held by their respective offices.
