The chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu, has revealed that over N2 billion and over 33 property
were recovered from three air force personnel.
Magu, who stated this yesterday at the EFCC Ikoyi,
Lagos office, during a tour of the commission’s detention facilities, added that
it was shocking that just three men could steal such a staggering amount of
money from Nigeria.
Magu, who was represented by the Deputy Director of
Operations, Mr. Iliyasu Kwarbai, said one of the property is valued at N1.8
billion. He narrowed down the total value of the 33 property to over N12
billion.
While explaining the importance of plea bargaining
in recovering stolen Nigeria loot, Magu noted that the three air force
personnel are presently asking for plea bargaining.
He said: “Plea bargaining lessens time wastage and
money spent on prosecution. Usually, it’s the accused person that applies to
the EFCC for the plea bargain. In the Arms deal investigation; we recovered
over N2 billion cash from three air force personnel. We also recovered over 33
property from them. One of the property is valued at N1.8 billion. They have
applied for plea bargaining. It means they have pleaded guilty. The punishment
will be mitigated and we’ll still recover some of Nigeria’s stolen property and
they’ll still serve punishment.”
Further explaining the reason for the tour of the
detention facilities, Magu said that the commission wanted to show members of
the public how transparent the EFCC was.
He said that suspects were never unduly detained,
beaten or harassed. According to him, presently, the Lagos Zone has just 22
suspects, including one female in detention.
His words: “We feed our detainees three times a day.
We don’t beat or abused suspects. We don’t box them. We don’t extort. We’re not armchair
investigators. We go to banks and get our facts. Some of them insult us, but we
don’t reply. We’re group of professionals. All we want are answers to some
questions. We confront them with facts and figures.”
He noted that most suspects involved in high profile
cases, easily falls sick once they are detained.
He said: “The moment we take them to our detention
facility at Okotiebo, they fall sick. They fall sick because they have been
living in luxury with our collective stolen wealth.”
Magu, who also conducted journalists and civil
rights organization round the EFCC clinic, said the clinic was for both
suspects and staff.
He said that once any suspect complains of ill
health, the person would be taken to the clinic, where they have standby
doctors. If the EFCC doctors couldn’t handle the illness, the suspect is
immediately referred to another hospital. The EFCC usually picks the bill for
such medical expenses.
Praising the legal capabilities of Lagos Zone,
lawyers, Magu said that the zone has achieved 45 convictions between January
and August.
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