Magu: Those close to me using my name to dupe people

Ibrahim Magu, chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes (EFCC), says some of his associates are using his name to dupe unsuspecting people.

He said this on Thursday, in a statement issued by Wilson Uwujaren, EFCC spokesman.

The EFCC chairman had come under scrutiny following allegations of bribery against him.

Umar Mohammed, a retired air force chief, who is reportedly being investigated by the Department of State services (DSS) , allegedly collected a bribe of $115m from a suspect for Magu.

But Magu on Thursday said some of people known to have relationship with him position themselves as agents of the the commission to extort money from suspects under investigation.

“It has come to the attention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, that some unscrupulous individuals now parade the streets posing as representatives of the acting chairman of EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, and extorting money from persons under investigation, promising them a soft-landing and, in some instances, giving them assurances that their cases would be closed,” the statement read.

“Intelligence available to the commission indicate that some of them who are known to have relationships with the acting chairman are exploiting this knowledge to position themselves as agents of the anti-graft czar, to extort desperate suspects under investigation by the commission.

“In the recent past, the commission notified the public of the activities of some individuals who cloned the phone number of Magu, using same to illegally solicit funds. Some even opened fake facebook accounts in the name of the EFCC boss and proceeded to use same to con unsuspecting citizens. But despite the alarms, it would seem that criminal minds are not deterred as their number seemed to have swelled.

“The commission, for the umpteenth time, wishes to warn members of the public not to fall for the wiles of fraudsters and scammers exploiting the good name of the acting EFCC chairman to defraud desperate citizens.

“Mr Magu has not and will never mandate any individual to demand gratification from persons under investigation.”