Weekend Arena -How The 'Almighty' Magu Shot Himself In The Foot With A Dane Gun

If Ibrahim Magu, the suspended acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, eventually returns to his post, which is very unlikely, his life will never be the same again.

 What has befallen him is proof of the ephemeral nature of life and its attributes.

 It is likely that he would presently be wishing for another chance, so he can fix certain things; especially if he gets the opportunity to surf the social media space with a flurry of opinions about his actions and inactions in office. But like my great uncle, Paul Emedolibe, used to say: ’Always learn from the mistakes of others’. Did Magu learn from his predecessors’ mistakes before wearing the EFCC crown? Will whoever that will succeed him learn from his ordeal today?



From Nuhu Ribadu, Farida Waziri, Ibrahim Lamorde to Ibrahim Magu, all had been mired in allegations arising from their conduct in office. All had allowed their images tower above the office they occupied, repudiating Barack Obama’s famous advice to Africa, about building strong institutions and not strong individuals.

 While they were in office, their names sent shivers down the spines of people, especially politicians, whose hands are mostly soiled. They were poster-faces of raw usage of state power, because there are just only 74 individuals (the President, his Vice, the state governors and their deputies) in the entire country of over 200 million they could not detain, if they so wished. 

It would only take the necessary phone calls and explanations; and a covert nocturnal invasion will have them capture the personality like a bird in the dead of the night. So one can see why such a position is capable of leaving its occupier drunk with state power.


Since this office is a creation of political arrangement and compromise, all of them, in the perception of most Nigerians, have tended to act in alignment with the body language of the Presidency and its interests. This has often given their actions away as political, even when some are cogent. We saw this play out in HD video when the homes of judges were raided, as Magu and his men scavenged for incriminating evidence to nail them. 

We also saw so many media trials. In fact, Magu’s reign saw a new high in media conviction than judicial verdict. Perhaps, the former Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke was at the receiving end of this action. So much was put in the media about her alleged loot that it sounds irreconcilable today for the same Magu to be accused of not making Diezani’s files available to the Attorney General’s Office for her prosecution.

 Magu and his boys were always finding monies, in various currencies, abandoned at airports, stashed in soak-away pits, hidden in overhead water tanks. It was under him, that EFCC would announce their plans to arrest a suspect before carrying out their raid. 

Imagine what would have happened if the authorities in Dubai had announced their intention to arrest Hushpuppi, before coming to his residence? From all indications, Magu’s media team was only interested in boosting the public image of their master at the expense of the EFCC, as if they were prepping him for future political assignments.

This is what whoever emerges as his successor eventually must avoid. The person must see his or her role as a call to rescue Nigeria from one of its biggest scourges-corruption. The person must discharge the duties without bias and move in whenever he smells corruption without minding who is involved or who would be impressed. The idea of detaining a suspect before searching for incriminating evidence should take a back seat, because all those moves where EFCC would clandestinely go to a court to get an order to detain someone as long as they wished in order to seek implicating evidences looks unprofessional. The new helmsman should know that Nigerians are eager to see a refreshed EFCC which will not be interested in coming up with 200 charges, only to end up being unable to substantiate one.

Perhaps, it is also time for the President to look elsewhere in selecting a replacement. The first four chairmen are northerners with Nigeria Police Force background, maybe we should try people with experience in other security arms (Customs, Army etc) in line with the laws setting up the EFCC.


The new Chairman must bear in mind that his office is like a loan, which must be repaid one day and an opportunity to leave his or her name, honourably, on the sands of time. The person must remember that months ago, Magu and his boys could stop any important personality in traffic and make him change his route to honour an invitation (not arrest), only to remain in custody for over 4 days, like it is playing out today. He must not be intoxicated with the influence associated with this post.


Of course, there are similar characters in some sensitive positions who have built egos as huge as cathedrals. Many aides to governors fall into this category. 

As aides, they insult journalists, avoid calls, talk down on anyone online for sharing a contrary view about their principals.

 They recruit online trolls to fight for politicians, oblivious of the fact that they are being used; and that in politics, there are no permanent friends or enemies; and that everything, every problem has an expiry date.

Hmmmmm Ngozi my dear,Some things are indeed temporary and Magu's case is a big lesson to learn from...

They say his ultimate protector was the one that died and that as soon as that one died,it was evident that Magu's days were numbered.....I guess that school of thought turned out to be correct!

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