EFCC will go after doctors —Magu

THE acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, has declared that the anti-corruption commission will henceforth go after doctors who connive with criminals to issue fake medical reports to delay trials.

Magu stated this on Friday while addressing a stakeholders’ meeting on internet-related frauds held at the commission’s headquarters in Jabi, Abuja.

In a dramatic moment during the meeting, however, the EFCC boss refused to comment when prodded on what the commission was doing on a petition submitted by a group of activists on billion vans spotted at the residence of the national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu, in the build-up to the last general election.

He simply retorted: “You want me to discuss the petition?” and refused to make any further comment on the issue.

Magu stated that cases involving corrupt persons in courts had kept dragging seemingly endlessly and Nigerians were asking questions.

He lamented that even with the advent of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), some cases still dragged on endlessly.

According to Magu, some people got medical reports that they could not go to court to face trial, while some came to courts on stretchers.

“This is exactly what is happening. Now, we will extend our investigations to doctors who connive with criminals and give them fake medical reports. I think we have to go after them.

“There is a way they can even get false reports from abroad from hospitals. You know, in hospital, you can easily get a report. Just contact them, they will send you whatever you want.

“I think we should also put them on the spot so that this practice of giving fake medical reports will stop. It must stop,” Magu declared.

They told me that they wanted me to have children for them, so that the children can be brought up to become jihadists like them —Phoebe Musa

He stated that lawyers handling corruption cases for the EFCC would be summoned with a view to knowing the status of the cases they were handling.

“We are also going back to the drawing board and call all the lawyers who are doing these cases. They should come and tell us the status of these cases.

“We can’t go on like that; it is not possible. Even after ACJA, some cases are still endlessly dragging,” he added.

Magu stated that the commission was worried about the activities of non-governmental organisations operating in the North-East and was, therefore, investigating them seriously.

According to him, some of the NGOs might be banned because they were involved in worrisome activities.

“We are worried also because of the activities of NGOs in the North-East. We are conducting very serious investigations. Very soon, we will come out.

“In fact, we will ban some of them because they are involved in activities that are very worrisome. There are lots of cash movements. Sometimes they fly in cash.

“We have not completed our investigations. We are working on some NGOs. There is no way some of these NGOs will continue to operate in this country because we are facing a lot of insurgency, illegal mining activities and banditry. They are all funded by looters,” the EFCC boss stated.

He said arrangements had been made to dispose recovered assets through competitive biddings, adding that the proceeds would be channeled to the treasury.

“This government has made arrangements for the disposal of recovered assets. We are going to do it. It is going to be competitive bidding.

“The revenue generated from recovered assets has been made a budget line. The revenue so realised will now go back to the treasury,” he said.

Magu stated that the EFCC had sustained efforts to comprehensively tackle the menace of internet-related frauds in the country.

“I am happy to report that we are recording series of breakthroughs with almost daily arrests of suspected fraudsters across the country.

“In October alone, the commission recorded over 200 arrests of internet fraud suspects in carefully coordinated operations across our offices,” he noted.

Nigerian Tribune