The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, says the anti-graft agency will prosecute those suspected to have benefitted from the $2.1bn arms fund even after they have returned stolen money to the national treasury.
Magu, in The Interview magazine’s February edition, was responding to a question on whether the EFCC would enter into plea bargaining with suspects or waive prosecution if stolen funds were returned.
He said the priority of the EFCC was to recover the diverted arms funds.
He said, “What matter, first and foremost, is for everyone involved in the arms scandal to return the money he or she may have collected. That does not preclude such suspects from facing prosecution.”
The EFCC chairman said the desire for illicit wealth among public office holders was one of the major reasons why corruption had been on the rise in the country.
Magu said Nigerians should be outraged by the amount of money originally set aside for the war against Boko Haram, which was diverted for personal use.
The EFCC chairman said allegations against the commission that its anti-corruption war was politically-motivated was a proof that corruption was already fighting back.
He said, “Political offices in Nigeria are too attractive. This encourages a rat race of a sort. Also, the judiciary, which is the last resort, has allegedly been complicit, making civil servants who have been found guilty of corruption feel confident to poke the law in the face and go scot-free.
“There should be a national outrage by now. There is something wrong with our values. Corruption has been celebrated over the years.”
A statement by the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Interview, Mr. Azu Ishiekwene, described the magazine’s February edition as, “our gift to our growing community of readers beyond Valentine.”
Also in the February edition, the founder of SaharaReporters, Mr. Omoyele Sowore, criticised former President Olusegun Obasanjo for “letting corruption ruin Nigeria” under his watch.
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