A civil rights group- HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA
(HURIWA) has warned the Senate President Dr Bukola Saraki of the grave
and imminent danger in going ahead with the plot to now accept and confirm
Ibrahim Magu as Chairman of EFCC after thoroughly indicting him based on
credible security reports.
The Rights group has averred that the Senate Leadership runs the risk of
unwittingly turning the National Legislature into a mere paper tiger and
an appendage of the Executive arm of government should the hierarchy
allow the Volta face and shameless turn-around to accept again Alhaji
Ibrahim Magu for reconfirmation as substantive Chairman of the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC).
HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA believes that converting the
National Assembly members into stooges of President Muhammadu Buhari by
the inconsistent and contradictory readmission for the purposes of
confirmation of a man who the Senate rubbished his integrity and
credibility could be one more step towards authoritarianism.
HURIWA said Nigerians should hold the Senators responsible should
constitutional democracy collapse in the face of the emerging dictatorial
tendencies of President Muhammadu Buhari including the blatant disrespect
by the Presidency for the powers of the Court system in Nigeria
guaranteed under section 6 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria of 1999 (as amended).
The group in a statement to the media jointly issued by the National
Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Affairs
Director Miss. Zainab Yusuf submitted that already President Muhammadu
Buhari had used the Department of State Services to harass the Judiciary
into cowardly submission.
According HURIWA President Muhammadu Buhari had on three occasions
refused to respect binding orders granted by the Courts of Competent
Jurisdiction in cases involving erstwhile National Security Adviser
Colonel Sambo Dasuki; Indigenous people of Biafria’s Nnamdi Kanu and
Shiites Islamic Movement ‘s Sheikh ElZaczakky. These brazen disobedience
of the competent courts which is an impeachable offence is so grave just
as the Right group is lamenting that the Legislative sacrilege about to be
committed by the Senate in the reconfirmation of Ibrahim Magu as Chairman
of EFCC after the damaging security reports surfaced could spell doom for
constitutionalism.
HURIWA submitted therefore that the ongoing trade-off between the Senate
leadership and the Presidency would whittle down the constitutional
principles of separations of power and would effectively reduce the
Legislative Arm of Government as slaves of the power seeking executive arm
of government.
“Does the National Assembly lack self respect that it has decided to
revisit its vomit by the subterranean readmission for confirmation of
Alhaji Ibrahim Magu as Chairman of EFCC after the Nigerian public were
told in black and white that the security reports from the Department of
State Services clearly indicted Ibrahim Magu as a man who allegedly has
double life and fraternises with suspects undergoing investigation by the
EFCC that he heads as acting Chairman? This moral recapitulation and
submission will cost the National Assembly the remaining respect it has
enjoyed in the eyes of rational human beings globally “.
HURIWA recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari has again presented the
name of Ibrahim Magu, the current acting chairman of the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), as his nominee for the substantive
chairmanship of the anti-graft agency.
HURIWA quoting a source at the Presidency said that Mr. Magu’s name had
been submitted to the office of the Nigerian Senate President Bukola
Saraki. “I can confirm that President Buhari submitted Ibrahim Magu’s name
just before he began a 10-day vacation in Britain on Thursday,” the
presidential source dislosed.