Magu’s invitation, questioning were in his best interest —Presidency 

The presidency said on Wednesday the invitation and subsequent interrogation of the suspended acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, by a presidential panel were in his best interest.

The Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Femi Adesina, stated this when he appeared on a Channels Television programme, Politics Today.

Magu, who was arrested on July 6, was quizzed by the Justice Ayo Salami-led panel for several alleged acts of financial malfeasance.

The anti-graft czar was accused of re-looting funds and other assets recovered from suspected treasury looters by the commission.

The panel also alleged that Magu had been unable to account for the interest that accrued to the N550billion recovered funds.

The suspended EFCC chief was released on Wednesday evening.

Adesina said Magu was not on trial but was only invited to tell his own side of the story.

READ ALSO: After 10 days in detention, Magu finally released

According to him, the EFCC chairman was told to step aside to allow for a seamless investigation of allegations against him.

The presidential aide said: “If anything illegal has been done, there are ways to seek redress for it but I think it is in the best interest of everybody including Magu for the panel to have invited him to hear his side of the story.

“I can tell you on authority that before this became a public issue, the panel had been sitting for weeks and when the panel established some grounds for Mr. Magu to be invited, the president then gave approval for him to be invited and he was invited and he came.”

Adesina, however, refused to be dragged into discussion on propriety or otherwise of Magu’s 10 days stay in detention.

He insisted that the probe of the suspended EFCC chief was a credit to President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, saying Magu’s case was proof that no one was above the law.

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