👤 EXCLUSIVE: Adenike Lucas and Danjuma Aliyu, DENISAURUS News

Members of staff of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have identified the style in which their boss, Ibrahim Mustafa Magu, is using to “re-loot” assets recovered by the agency. 

Mr Magu, the first to be rejected as the substantive chairman of the anti-graft agency, recently announced that he had recovered 244 oil tankers from suspected oil bunkers, but sources in the agency, said their boss has “not been honest and has released some of these trucks to the owners behind the scene.”

According to sources familiar with the inside workings of the EFCC, “Mr Magu knows he is leaving the agency soon, so he is on a mission to make some last minute deals. Among them is the 244 oil tankers which he has began to do underhand deals with.”

READ ALSO: EXCLUSIVE: EFCC’s Magu Will Attend NIPSS – Despite His Reluctance, PSC Sends His Name Among Next Set Of NIPSS Attendees

Sources explained that “usually when suspects are arrested like that, they want to do plea bargain. And when they are convicted, they forfeit the attached trucks to the Federal Government. But, with Mr Magu, the assets are not listed in their asset forfeited list, and the suspect can go back to him behind the scene to pay him some millions of Naira, in order to fraudulently release the trucks back to them.”

“As per the tankers, Mr Magu has already released 45 to the suspects – who in turn paid him through his lackey.”

DENISAURUS News was further informed that there is now problem for Mr Magu, who had earlier told the Presidency that there were 244 tankers, seized from oil saboteurs in the south south of Nigeria.

The Presidency received a memo that there were 244 oil tankers, however, 45 of those trucks have already been converted by Mr Magu – whom the Department of State Services, DSS, described as a “perennial offender,” another sourced expressed.

Coincidentally, “45 out of the 244 oil tankers was released to the owners, through one Mr AbdulRasheed Bawa – a known lackey of the EFCC boss at the anti-graft agency. The senior staff member who acted on behalf of Mr Magu, did a deal with the suspects whose oil tankers were seized. He returned the trucks and collected some money from the suspects.”

Mr Bawa apparently remitted some of the money he collected to his boss – the main orchestrator of the deal.

In the same vein, our sources said “there is only 199 remaining of the truck, but the problem is how to tell the Presidency this news.” Sources who spoke to DENISAURUS News say Mr Bawa, who failed to give a memo to Mr Magu, stating that he was about to carry out the oral instruction given to him by the EFCC boss, has been left to carry the can alone.

It is not the first time Mr Magu has given oral orders to core staff members, and left them to deal with the consequences alone.

DENISAURUS News had reported in the past that Mr Magu often times gives orders, but he never sends an official written notes about it. One of the times, the anti-graft boss did so was the order given to decorate Ike Ekweremadu as an anti-corruption ambassador.

The decision to decorate Senator Ekweremadu, the former Deputy President of the Senate was condemned by the public, and a core staff  who served as the liaison officer at the National Assembly,  was made to take the blame for it. Sulemain Bakari had not gotten a written order from Mr Magu before carrying the order, DENISAURUS News was informed.

Those familiar with the case involving Mr Bawa said he “feels dejected.” The man who “used to bop majestically into the office, now walks around like a lowly worm.”

Mr Bawa’s downfall came as a result of greed and the inability to satisfy an even greedier boss. Those familiar with the case say that the suspects involved in the already released 45 trucks paid a “handsome sum to have their tankers back.” Unfortunately, Mr Bawa “did not give enough kickback to Mr Magu.”

Failure to provide enough kick back to Mr Magu has resulted in Mr Bawa’s demotion – and subsequent removal to the EFCC Academy in Karu, Abuja.

DENISAURUS News has been told by associates of Mr Bawa, that the head of the EFCC in Port Harcourt had an inclination his misdeed were closing in on him, and so he asked for permission to go on a study leave abroad.

Mr Bawa’s request was denied by EFCC’s Magu, who is to proceed to the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS Jos, next year.

READ ALSO: REVEALED: President @MBuhari Seals “Perennial Offender,” EFCC Magu’s Move To NIPSS Despite Crocodile Tears At #UNGA

A white wash investigation was ordered against Mr Bawa by anti-graft boss through the Internal Affairs Department at the anti-graft agency. The Commission’s Secretary, Ola Olukoyede and some other management members of staff, took some written statements from Mr Bawa last week, spanning over three days.

The result of the investigation was to dismiss and prosecute Mr Bawa over the gross misconduct. Apparently, Mr Magu fears further exposé against him, and rather sent him to the EFCC Academy  – now known as the dumping ground for those who have lost favour with Mr Magu.

According to insiders, Mr Magu is furious with Mr Bawa for deciding to short change him over the recovered assets released informally.

It is not the first time that Mr Magu has been accused of touching recoveries.

READ ALSO: Saraki Says Anti-graft Agencies Have Stolen Recovered Loot – And This Confirms Allegations EFCC Staff Made Against Magu

The President of the eight Senate, Bukola Saraki stated that many of the loot recovered by Mr Magu’s EFCC had been re-looted.

The former Senate President may have even laid some credence to staff allegations made to DENISAURUS News, when he spoke at a retreat of the National Assembly in 2017.

“In related matters, Nigeria is finding it difficult to convince other nations to return funds looted from our treasury. This is because of the other nations’ exasperation over the management of returned assets,” he said.

“Only recently, Mr. President inaugurated a committee to audit all assets recovered by various government agencies,” he continued.

“An ad hoc committee of the Senate, which is investigating some administrative infractions in the Executive, has discovered that many properties recovered from a fugitive of the law, have not been accounted for by the investigating agency.

This gives the global community great concern about the commitment of Nigeria to the anti-corruption drive.”

But, the looting of recovered assets from the EFCC led by Mr Magu, was first reported by the Editor of DENISAURUS News in 2016.

READ ALSO : EFCC Boss, Magu Commences Total War With Core EFCC Staff

A story written by Adenike Lucas and published by ABUSIDIQU, led to the arrest of the popular blogger Abubakar Sidiq Usman – who is now a Special Adviser to the President of the 9th Senate.

At the time, the article stated that a property belonging to one Air Commodore Salisu Yushau, who is also involved in the $2b Arms Deal scandal, were never declared to the Assets Forfeiture Unit.

The property which is situated beside KASUPDA HOUSE, Kaduna Central Market, Ahmadu Bello Way, Kaduna State, was among the loot Mr Magu has done away with.

Similarly, this paper was authoritatively informed that Mr Magu’s EFCC has recovered many expensive laptops and phones from suspected “yahoo-yahoo” boys.

Our sources say that under Mr Magu’s oral instruction, many of these phones and laptop have been sold, and the money shared among lackeys of the anti-graft boss.

DENISAURUS News reached out to the EFCC Spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, but he declined to either confirm or deny this new revelation emanating from the Port Harcourt office of the anti-graft agency.