Okwe Obi, Abuja
Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has described the consistent attack and malicious comments on the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, for urging President Mohammadu Buhari to sack the suspended acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, as uncharitable and needless.
The group argued that Malami should rather be commended for raising the alarm over alleged abuse of power by Magu, who is under investigation, adding that Malami was not the first person to report the suspended Chairman to President Buhari.
While addressing newsmen yesterday in Abuja, National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, urged the President not to listen to calls by some sponsored civil society organisations to sack the AGF.
He said: “It has come to our notice that the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and the Minister of Justice; Abubakar Malami (SAN), who is the Chief Law Officer of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has been the subject of a vicious and sustained attacks in recent times.
“The campaigns, which intensified since the AGF urged President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission; Ibrahim Magu for alleged infractions is being executed by elements close to powerful forces backing Ibrahim Magu and these groups hide under compromised Civil Society Organisations and induced media platforms to launch personal attacks against the Chief Law Officer of the Federation.
“To achieve their nefarious objectives, they have twisted several allegations which range from mismanagement of funds, abuse of office to obstruction of criminal investigations just to distract and even disable the Chief Law Officer of the Federation and make a mess of the whole anti- corruption fight especially that involving Ibrahim Magu.”
According to Onwubiko, “The sponsors of this vicious campaign must not be allowed to achieve their evil plans of destabilizing measures to strengthen our laws and institutions, especially the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
“If we sit back and fold our arms whilst this vicious campaigns against the AGF is allowed to aggravate, then we will be shooting ourselves in the foot and destroying whatever is left of the credibility of our institutions.”
He said the President should appoint someone with impeccable character to head the Commission, noting that the person must not be a police officer, because, according to him, those police officers who had headed agency performed abysmally.
Source: www.sunnewsonline.com
