Court: Buhari has ‘the yam and the knife’ to keep Magu as acting EFCC chairman

A federal high court in Abuja has dismissed suits seeking the removal of Ibrahim Magu as acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Ijeoma Ojukwu, the judge, delivered the judgment on Wednesday.

Magu was appointed in November 2015 after the sack of Ibrahim Lamorde.

The suits were challenging Magu’s status as acting EFCC chairman, despite the non-confirmation of his appointment by the senate under the leadership of Bukola Saraki.

The senate had rejected Magu’s appointment as the chairman of the anti-graft agency on two occasions.

The plaintiffs argued that based on the rejection, Magu should not be allowed to continue to serve in that capacity.

But delivering her verdict, Ojukwu said the law does not provide a specific duration for which an individual can serve as acting EFCC chairman.

She said, by that, the law gave the president “the proverbial yam and the knife to do as he pleases” with the appointment of the EFCC chairman.

In 2017, a federal high court in Lagos struct out a suit filed by Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, a lawyer and rights activist, seeking an order to restrain Magu from holding the office in an acting capacity.

Femi Falana, a human rights lawyer, had said the constitution empowers President Muhammadu Buhari to keep Magu as acting chairman of the anti-graft agency for as long as possible.