ABDULRASHEED BAWA IS A PRODUCT OF INSTITUTIONAL CORRUPTION!

ZION B-BC   NEWSLETTER.  

(Looking at Nigeria's Political System From a Godly Perspective).

A Publication of the Zion Faith Bible-Believing Church Kpeyegyi Abuja Nigeria {Vol. 10.NO 394. 28th February, 2021.} “…ONLY The Truth, Will Set You Free! (John.8:32).  PRAY & FAST EVERY WEDNESDAY TO STOP BLOODSHED IN NIGERIA!

ABDULRASHEED BAWA IS A PRODUCT OF INSTITUTIONAL CORRUPTION!

The slogan #The Young Shall Grow”, subsequently metamorphosed into an Act of Parliament christened “Not-Too-Young-To-Rule” in Nigeria when the President appended his signature to a National Assembly Bill which had scaled through all legal processes on 31st May 2018.

There is no doubt that the just appointed 40-year-old Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission [EFCC], is a beneficiary of the youth-friendly Act which has enjoyed massive support from among over 60 per cent of the nation’s population!

BUT, did President Buhari’s Administration follow “due process” in the appointment of the young man into the exalted, sensitive and controversial office? The answer is NO!

REASONS:
Abdulrasheed is a product of political manipulation and sole candidate of Abubakar Malami, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation who ensured that former head of the agency, Ibrahim Magu was brushed aside, maligned and eventually removed to pave way for the young man who hails from Kebbi, Malami’s State of origin!
The Minister of Justice during his first term in Buhari’s cabinet tried frantically to subject Magu under his supervision in order to pick and choose who to prosecute or set free through “nolle prosequi”, though Magu usually reported directly to Mr. President!!
He was able to subtly garner opposition against Magu from within and without to punish him for his stubbornness! On two different occasions the DSS wrote negative reports against him while the Senate applied those reports to reject his confirmation until  Abdulrasheed, his subordinate and level 13 officer  was appointed through accelerated promotions and confirmed to the substantive position which was deliberately made elusive to Magu who acted from 2015-2020!
To get Abdulrasheed into the saddle, Magu MUST give way; so the Attorney General concocted 22 allegations of impropriety, flagrant abuse of public office, corruption, graft, insubordination and other infractions, which the accused officer should defend before retired Justice Ayo Salami’s seven-man Presidential Probe Panel set up 3rd July, 2020!The Panel was charged to investigate all allegations and submit its report - with an extension window – by Friday 20th November, 2020!Although President Buhari was yet to publish a White Paper on the panel’s report as at the close of February, 2021, Magu who was promoted to the rank of Commissioner of Police in 2018, was treated with levity and ignominy in order to make him irrelevant and subtly pave way for a new choice, Abdulrasheed Bawa!

ABDULRASHEED GOT THE PLUM JOB ON A PLATTER OF GOLD MORE OR LESS!

It is very instructive and pertinent to state here again as We have done in the past that Nigerian Youths just like their Women counterpart were never marginalized in the scheme of politicking or political appointments during the colonial period, and neither at independence nor post-independence military periods of nation-building; most times they always hoped for special favours instead of competitiveness!
Abdulrasheed’s tour of 16 years stemmed from his training as one of the pioneer cadet officers of Course One 2005, EFCC Academy, without the benefit of police training background though the agency is an off-shoot of the Nigerian Police Force!

He had to his credit, vast experience in investigation and prosecution of bank fraud, money laundering, advance fee fraud, official corruption including all manner of economic and financial crimes etc, etc.

We are not unaware of the fact that government’s move to appoint and confirm his appointment was not unconnected with Justice Ayo Salami’s recommendation that the anti-graft agency should be severed from the tradition of POLICE headship!
Abdulrasheed was able to scale all hurdles in spite of petitions from several quarters, opposition at the Senate Chambers because decision to appoint him was already made at the highest level of government which normally threw FEDERAL CHARACTER to the winds!

WAS ABDULRASHEED QUALIFIED FOR THE JOB?

YES, he was – with Bachelors of Science (second class upper), in Economics and Master’s degrees in International Affairs/Diplomacy in his kitty! Was he the most senior or most qualified? NO! Mohammed Umar who had acted since Magu was suspended, was not even considered! Did he convince the Senators who confirmed his appointment on Wednesday 24th February, 2021? YES, he convinced about 15 out of 109! Did he defend the accusations that he sold “properties that were seized during his tenure as zonal head of EFCC’s Port-Harcourt Office?” YES! He said he had a good relationship with his predecessors according to reports!

[Please find below our publication, Edition 381 of 29th November, 2020, titled]:
“JUSTICE SALAMI HAS NO MORAL JUSTIFICATION TO INDICT IBRAHIM MAGU!”
“Without diminishing from facts and figures of successfully prosecuted corruption cases/financial crimes and several breakthroughs of recovered looted treasury funds by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission [EFCC], from 2015- 2020, it is obvious that President Buhari’s “war against corruption” would have been a mirage!
Ibrahim Magu (now a Commissioner of Police), who was appointed as EFCC’s Chairman by the President in acting capacity on from 9th November 2015, until his suspension on 7th July, 2020, worked with his team of detectives to save the dwindling image of the outfit which was established in 2003, by ex-President Aremu Obasanjo to witch-hunt his assumed political enemies!

Magu did not waste time to ruffle the nest of the so-called untouchable politicians including money launderers through massive arrests and swift arraignments before the law courts where he recorded convictions having conducted thorough/professional investigations!
Ibrahim Magu also successfully prosecuted THREE EX-GOVERNORS and many influential politicians who were convicted and sentenced to various prison terms, according to the law, but the presidential request for the crime buster’s confirmation as substantive chairman was rejected twice by the 8th Senate, headed by ‘Bukola Saraki, who was on trial for corruption charges proffered against him by ICPC, because he (Magu), had stepped on several toes!

MAGU’S EXPECTATION FOR CONFIRMATION FAILED BECAUSE HE REFUSED TO PLAY BALL!

Magu had the unusual privilege of reporting directly to Mr. President throughout his first term and would have gotten his confirmation on a platter of gold in the second term but for the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, who believed that the EFCC Head should report directly and take instructions from him in order to block his access to the President and surreptitiously delay urgent operational activities!
Following several clashes and disagreements between the duo the bubble burst, grapes turned sour and the Minister wielded the big stick for out of the blues, 22 allegations of impropriety were brought against the highly professional, devoted and diligent Magu!

He was promptly arrested, detained, suspended and ordered to be investigated by President Buhari, his erstwhile benefactor who was hoodwinked by Malami to inaugurate a seven-man probe panel on 3rd July, 2020, which he (president), charged to investigate all allegations and submit its report within a period of 45 days ( which terminated, 17th August, 2020), but further extended to Friday, 20th November, 2020,  (94 days behind schedule), following a presidential approval for an extension due to volume of work!

Other members of the panel are Mike Ogbizi-(Deputy Inspector General of Police), Hassan Abdullahi-( Department of State Security-DSS), Douglas Ekwueme- (Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit -NFIU), Mallam Shamsudeen- (Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation), Mohammed Abubakar- (Federal Ministry of Justice), Kazeem Atilebi- (Civil Society Organizations).

IBRAHIM MAGU REPLIED TO ALL TWENTY-TWO ALLEGATIONS WITH COMPREHENSIVE/DETAILED/ACCURATE ANALYSIS AND CONCLUDED AS FOLLOWS.

5.0 CONCLUSION
5.1 My Lord and Gentlemen, all my actions are documented and follow the prescribed procedures with necessary approvals. I am innocent. I have served my country to the best of my abilities with all sense of responsibility and integrity.
5.2 The records of achievements to the glory of God and this administration are there for all to see. I respectfully invite the panel to note the Stellar and unprecedented achievements of the EFCC under my watch as the Acting Chairman. A list of some of the achievements is the attached Annexure 1.
5.3 In the context of these achievements, my plea to the panel is to consider these achievements in strengthening my innocence.
5.4 I recall that President Muhammadu Buhari had in a letter sent to the Senate in 2017 through the then Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Babachir Lawal, cleared me of all allegations of corruption and misconduct, based on the report of the current HAGF Abubakar Malami SAN. A copy of the letter is in the custody of the HAGF and the 8th Senate for ease of reference.
5.5 I intend to furnish additional materials on what, in my opinion precipitated these baseless allegations in spite of the stellar achievements on anti-corruption of the President Buhari administration with my modest contributions. This will be forwarded to this distinguished panel as an ADDENDUM.
5.6 My Lord, Gentlemen, please accept my best personal regards and thank you for service to country.
It is very glaring that Mr. Malami was very vindictive in all of his frivolous accusations against Magu who vehemently refused to be a PUPPET under his Ministry, a lap dog or his master’s voice who can be manipulated at the whims and caprices of a very ambitious Malami whose hidden skeletons would sooner or later be exposed to the whole world!”

EFCC SHOULD BE ADEQUATELY FUNDED TO ACHIEVE BETTER RESULTS;  INSULATED FROM NEPOTISTIC INTERFERENCES AND INDEPENDENT OF ALL FORMS OF OFFICIAL MEDDLESOMENESS IF THE ANTI-GRAFT WAR MUST BE CONVINCINGLY WON!

Above all, Ibrahim Magu who is now 58 years MUST not be further humiliated or molested considering that he had served his country meritoriously. He joined the Nigerian Police Force in 1990 and will turn 60 years on 5th May, 2022! President Buhari should not sow a seed of discord in EFCC as the Chief Crusader against corruption!

BREAKING NEWS- (1): “About 300 girl students of the Government Girls Secondary School in Jangebe town, Talata Mafara LGA, with pick-up vehicles and motorcycles between 01-05am on Friday 26th February, 2021!” In our last publication [ Page 3 of Edition 393, 21st February, 2021, titled, “NIGERIA WTO VICTORY TURNED SOUR WITH KAGARA KIDNAP!”], We asked a pertinent question, “WHICH BOARDING SCHOOL IS NEXT IN THE LINE OF ABDUCTION?”  Kagara Kidnap was just TEN days old when the bandits struck again!

BREAKING NEWS (2): “On Saturday 27th February, 2021, all the Kagara students and other abductees were released!

QUESTION: WAS RANSOM PAID TO SECURE THEIR RELEASE? WILL PRESIDENT BUHARI NOW CONSIDER GRANTING AMNESTY TO BANDITS TO STOP WAR AGAINST WESTERN EDUCATION?

“When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn!”(Prov 29:2).

Please look forward to more divine revelation in the next edition of Zion B-BC Newsletter as you share this with friends and remain blessed in the Lord. [For weekly access, to this newsletter, log on to:  facebook.com/zionfaithbible.believingchurch or http://www.zfbbc1.blogspot.com,

If you have not accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour, don’t miss this great opportunity as you pray this prayer: Lord Jesus; I confess that I am a sinner who needs to be saved through the grace of the New Testament of your Blood, shed on the Cross at Calvary; I renounce every sin in my life and accept you as my Lord and Saviour. Please forgive me and write my name in the Book of Life. Amen. If you prayed this prayer, you have been admitted into the family of sons and daughters of God, who are born-again. Congratulations. 

I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon, Resident Pastor and Editor. 08130669886, 08080243066. g-mail-dvdolufon@gmail.com.