Malami accuses EFCC of violating rules on prosecution
- The minister of justice and attorney-general of the federation, Abubakar Malami, seeks to enforce the EFCC’s compliance with the regulation on the prosecution of serious cases
- Some EFCC sources suggest Malami is seeking to take over the prosecution of cases handled by the commission in order to water down the anti-graft war
- But sources at the attorney-general’s office say Malami is only trying to reassert himself having been persistently sidelined by the anti-graft agencies
The minister of justice and attorney-general of the federation, Abubakar Malami, has accused Ibrahim Magu of breaching the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) rules on prosecutions.
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The Cable, citing an EFCC source, reports that the office of the minister of justice on Tuesday, August 1, served a letter to the EFCC seeking compliance with the regulation on the prosecution of serious cases.
The letter from the attorney-general accused the EFCC of breaching section 10(1) of the EFCC (Enforcement) regulations 2010.
Section 10(1) of the regulation mandated the anti-graft agency to forward the outcome of investigations along with its recommendations to the AGF in cases or complaints that are “serious or complex”.
According to the regulation, a case is considered “serious or complex” if it has significant international dimension or involves money or assets of a value exceeding N50 million.
Other categories of serious cases include those that require specialised knowledge of financial, commercial, fiscal or regulatory matters such as the operations of the markets, banking systems, trusts or tax regimes.
It is also covers allegations of fraudulent activities against numerous victims, involves a significant loss of money by a ministry or department or public body, is likely to be of widespread public concern or involves an alleged misconduct which amounts to economic sabotage.
In the above cases, the regulation states that after the anti-graft agency has concluded its investigations, it is then left to the office of the AGF to decide whether or not there are sufficient grounds to initiate prosecution.
However, some EFCC sources have suggested Malami is seeking to take over the prosecution of cases handled by the commission in order to water down the anti-graft war.
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This claim was however dismissed by sources at the attorney attorney-general’s office who said Malami was only trying to reassert himself having been persistently sidelined by the anti-graft agencies under his supervision.
Meanwhile, Abubakar Malami has reportedly blamed the Senate for the inability of the government to spend recovered funds.
Legit.ng reports that the federal government has maintained it is making steady efforts at recovering looted funds, but there has been inability to spend same for developmental purposes.
According to The Nation, Malami further said the legistlature has the responsibility of ensuring that suspected looters do not get bail from the courts adding that they must amend existing laws to that effect.
In the video below; the EFCC organised a march tagged ‘walk against corruption’ in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Source: Legit.ng
