Prominent international groups involved in anti-corruption efforts globally have written to President
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He has been detained since then as he continues to appear before a panel probing allegations of corruption and insubordination against him. The allegations were made by the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami.
In their joint letter, dated
The letter was signed by
"His determination to fight corruption is evident by the recovery of stolen funds and properties plus his own high moral ground earned at the cost of diligence and hardwork never before seen. His political removal questions the will of
The four groups have been at the vanguard of monitoring and exposing the corruption involved in the infamous OPL 245 Malabu scandal for which oil majors
The groups on Sunday released a statement about the content of their letter to the Nigerian president.
Read the statement below.
The unceremonious exit of former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) Acting Chairman, Mr
World acclaimed anti-corruption groups, Re:Common, Globalwitness and The Corner House based in
Re:Common top official Mr
The letter was signed by Manes, Hildyard, Taylor and their Nigerian counterpart, Human and Environmental Development Agenda, (
"What is going on in
Some of the groups' most significant contributions to
The coalition said "We are therefore greatly alarmed - as are others in the international anti-corruption movement - by reports that
They said the international community is not opposed to
"The procedures are clearly being hijacked by detractors of Magu in the political space and this is eroding the potential credibility of the outcome of the panel constituted to probe these allegations. The hounding of Magu through seemingly politically connected sponsored media harassment only makes matters worse", the groups stated in the letter.
The groups have been investigating corruption by Nigerian politicians and officials and the complicity of European and US banks, companies and others in facilitating such corruption.
The coalition's particular focus on corrupt acquisition by
The current prosecution in
These and other actions have significantly improved
The report goes on to praise Magus's EFCC as "a robust and effective organisation" but warns that it has "tough choices to make about its future direction, especially how it . . . resists political influence". To curtail such interference, the report concludes, will require leadership to "institute and enforce a zero-tolerance policy toward executive branch interference with . . . anti-corruption agencies".
The unique work of the group on OPL245 and also investigating
The coalition said "We have been hugely impressed by the dedication of its investigators and by the disciplined leadership shown by Acting Chairman
It noted that the respect that
"Indeed, in meetings we have had with this, and other agencies, conversations have often referred to the impressive current leadership of the EFCC" it said.
The global group observed that the attorney-general has apparently sought to bypass the usual administrative procedures of issuing a query to an accused officer under his ministry in favour of a political approach.
It said the procedure risks severely denting
"We note that many of the allegations reportedly made by the Attorney General have already been investigated by same Attorney General under your instruction in 2017 and that Magu was exonerated in respect of the corruption allegations: only those related to insubordination were freshly levelled. We are concerned that accusations of "insubordination" risk crossing the line that ensures the independence of prosecutors from political interference" adding that despite bearing false witness being illegal, no-one has been investigated or charged in relation to bringing the false allegations against Magu in 2017.
It said this regrettably sends the wrong message to the international community.
"We realize that you have been placed in an invidious position by the Attorney General. However, we very much hope that you will find a way forward that protects the huge strides made by the EFCC under Magu's acting chairmanship. We very much doubt if the Italian case would have reached the stage that it has without his committed and diligent response to Mutual Legal Assistance requests. At this critical stage in the trial, his replacement for political reasons would be wholly regrettable and would only give succour to those being prosecuted," the groups said.
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