The Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Lawal Daura has taken another swipe at the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu over the running of the Commission. He lamented that the Commission under Magu operates based on gossips, political interference from some quarters and advice from marabouts.
The DG DSS stated this on Thursday when he appeared before the Senate ad-hoc committee investigating the clash between officers of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Department of State Services (DSS) and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) on November 21, 2017.
He accused Magu of adopting a Gestapo style in the war against corruption stressing that the development is currently projecting the administration as dictatorial.
“The method (brawn instead of brain) deployed by the current EFCC under Magu is a Gestapo style that belongs to dictatorial regime. The Acting Chairman runs the Agency based on public rumours, manoeuvres, gossips, political interference from certain quarters and marabouts.”
Daura also accused Magu of being on a vendetta mission against the DSS following the indictment of his close friend, retired Air Commodore Mohammed Umar, who was involved in extorting money from suspects under investigation by the Presidential Committee Investigating Defence Procurement between 2014 and 2015.
He added that the EFCC lacks the power to investigate the finances of the DSS even though it has the power to investigate economic crimes. He explained that extant laws establishing the organization exclude it from such investigation given the sensitivity of its operations. He however said the Commission can wade into the matter if the President gives such directive.
Meanwhile, preliminary report of the Committee has indicted Magu over attempt to undermine extant laws establishing the intelligence organizations and laws guiding the operations of the commission. Part of the report read;
“The extant law regulating the Service prohibits it from the commission’s kind of investigation without a presidential order. It was suggested to him to call EFCC Board meeting to thrash it out or to secure such presidential order. The service also advised appropriate authorities to set up a Presidential Committee in the manner that the Tower/NIA money was investigated.”
