The Coalition led by the I belong to One Nigeria Initiative said Magu cannot investigate a case that it is directly involved in.
The UN Convener and Executive Coordinator of the group, Chief James Ezema who briefed newsmen on behalf of the civil society groups in Abuja said their is the need to Immediately Rescue the President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration’s Anti-Corruption War from ridicule by Corrupt Agencies in order to Save Nigeria from total Collapse.
He said, “As we are all aware, Nigeria as a country is in dare need of urgent rescue from the powerful forces holding her captive over the years.
“There was the hope of getting things right after the election of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, particularly based on his antecedents as a no nonsense anti-graft posture and consistent promises during the electioneering campaign in 2015 in which he said that anti corruption war would be given top priority by his government.
“No doubt the President Buhari began well when he launched his anti-graft campaign after his inauguration on May 29, 2015.
“However, recent events has shown that some powerful corrupt forces within and embedded in his Administration, have not only permeated some anti-graft agencies but have hijacked the war on Anti-corruption and today the hunters have vividly become the hunted.
“We, as responsible organisations who serve as watchdog cannot stand aside and look while our commonwealth is being Re-looted by those who should be at the forefront of recovering looted funds and assets.
“Recently, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the audit of 222 properties comprising of residential and commercial properties in several parts of the country, which were recovered by the Abdulrasheed Maina-led Presidential Task Team on Pension Reforms and handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The group however said “barely 24 hours after, the President constituted a committee to audit assets recovered by the Maina’s team, which were being shared and sold at far below market value to some government officials and their cronies, other top Government operatives are also busy recently manufacturing the documents used to make these transactions within the EFCC walls.
“Worthy of note is the fact that the EFCC having 47 members was part of the Dr Maina-led Pension Taskforce Team and the said recovered properties were handed over to the EFCC by the Team.
“More so, in a recent petition to the Senate by the Chairman of George Uboh Whistleblower Network, Dr. George Uboh, he unambiguously accused the EFCC of re-looting over N2.112 trillion recovered from looters by failing to remit the money to the federal government’s treasury. This is the EFCC that is supposed to fighting corruption being fingered in looting of recovered funds and assets in its possession.
“Now, for the avoidance of doubt, the EFCC and the ICPC have the statutory powers to bank and take over custody of any recovered assets and that was why the Maina Taskforce Team, which the EFCC was part of, handed over the recovered assets from suspected pension thieves to the commission. The ICPC has not denied these assertions and infact the ICPC is said to have remmitted funds under it’s custody, but credible reports oozing out of the EFCC shows that these recovered loots have been relooted
“For instance, from available evidence, we want to bring to the notice of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Senate, the House of Representatives and indeed the Nigerian people, that there are assets worth N1.63 trillion recovered from the alleged pension looters through the EFCC and ICPC as members of the Dr Maina-led Pension Taskforce Team, who executed the recoveries and took custody of the recovered assets.
The group therefore called on President Muhammadu Buhari to order the EFCC to hands off all investigation relating to pension fraud as the Commission having been indicted and obviously indicted itself in the alleged sharing of the looted funds and direct the Attorney General of the Federation to institute an independent panel of enquiry with no police involved to start this investigation from scratch to ascertain the level of impunity this relooting has reached.
“We equally call on Mr. President to immediately institute a public probe of the pension assets recovery, where all the suspects shall be summoned under Government protection. to testify and tell Nigerians what and what assets were seized from them and where the assets are at the moment”, Ezema added.
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