PROBE PANEL: Sacked EFCC Boss Quietly Returns Loot Stolen During His Tenure

👤 Adenike Lucas and Abdul Tukur, DENISAURUS News

A former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC and his associates, have allegedly returned a large sum to the Federal Government, DENISAURUS News can exclusively report.

Ibrahim Lamorde, an Assistant Inspector General of Police, who was sacked by President Muhammadu Buhari, and the Head of the dissolved Pension investigation team of the EFCC, Rtd Commissioner of Police, Muhammadu Wakili made the return of the loot in order to cover up their tracks, sources stated to this paper.

Our informant had also previously given exclusive information on how Ibrahim Musatafa Magu, the successor to AIG Lamorde, had also looted assets through proxies.

At the time the news was reported, Mr Magu, 58, had the blogger who published the story written by the editor of DENISAURUS News, Adenike Lucas, arrested.

Mr Magu was later shamefully arrested and remains suspended from his role as Acting Chairman of the EFCC, after failing to account for assets and millions of naira.

The 58-year-old, who worked with AIG Lamorde, also remains the only person to have been rejected twice as the substantive chairman of the prestigious anti-graft agency.

Before Mr Magu’s arrest, a letter was sent to the President by the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF Abubakar Malami which confirmed that the erstwhile acting chairman was re-looting assets recovered from investigation.

Mr Magu was also accused of insubordination, lack of respect to constitutional authority.

The AGF’s letter necessitated the setting and inauguration of Justice Ayo Salami’s panel to investigate Mr Magu and any other staff found guilty of the same offence.

The panel headed by Justice Salami, a retired President of the Court of Appeal, has been petitioned by people within and outside the EFCC to dig deep into the mismanaging and diverting proceeds recovered from cases being investigation by the Commission.

The Ayo Salami led panel, DENISAURUS News, understands has been working since July to carry out the investigation task it was given by President Buhari.

Sources close to the Presidency noted that the panel which sought for President Buhari’s approval for more time to continue it’s work, has submitted an interim report which already indicts Mr Magu, a Commissioner of Police, who this paper exclusively reported narrowly escaped collecting a summons for his removal from office in May 2020.

There has always been fears that without proper monitoring, EFCC chairs will themselves become looters.

It is why during the tenure of Farida Waziri, an Asset Forfeitures Unit was established.

Madam Waziri, the only female to have headed the anti-graft agency and still widely respected by staff, helped to recover millions of Naira from looters.

DENISAURUS News was told by staff members that the office of the Head of service of the Federation Steven Orasanye also constituted a task force team to recover Pension funds from people suspected to be stealing and diverting the funds which Mr Maina taskforce was made the head.

In the course of his assignment, Mr Maina sought for the help of EFCC to arrest, investigate and prosecute people who stole and diverted pension funds, but due to interests from some political figure head’s, the task force team was faced with serious challenges which also necessitated the 6th Senate to inaugurate a Public hearing on Pension Matters headed by Senator Aloysious Etuk and Kabiru Gaya.

A staff with reliable information about the process told this paper that the Senate Public hearing “unearthed a lot of fraud” on the EFCC investigation team under AIG Lamorde and CP Wakili who was the Head of the dissolved Pension investigation team.

This is possibly the reason why AIG Lamorde, 57, who is now heading the Force Intelligence Dept, and Wakili aka Singham have decided to silently return monies back to the federal government.