Former Senate President Bukola Saraki says the Court of Appeal’s ruling that Ibrahim Magu’s prolonged tenure as acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, was unlawful has vindicated the position taken by the eighth Senate under his leadership.
The appellate court, sitting in Abuja, overturned a 2019 Federal High Court judgement that had upheld Magu’s continued stay as acting EFCC chairman despite the Senate’s rejection of his nomination as substantive chairman twice. The ruling followed an appeal by lawyer Johnmary Jideobi, who challenged Magu’s prolonged tenure.
Reacting to the judgement in a post on his X handle on Tuesday, Saraki recalled that the eighth Senate rejected Magu’s nomination in 2016 and 2017.
Magu, who served as acting EFCC chairman from 2015, remained in the position until July 2020, when he was suspended by then-President Muhammadu Buhari.
Saraki said the Senate’s decision to reject Magu’s nomination was not politically motivated, as some had alleged at the time, but was an exercise of its constitutional responsibility.
“Back in 2016 and 2017, the 8th Senate, under my leadership, rejected Ibrahim Magu’s nomination as substantive EFCC Chairman not once but twice. Still, he remained in office illegally until July 2020, without confirmation by the Senate,” Saraki stated.
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He also alleged that he, his colleagues in the eighth Senate, their families and associates faced what he described as attempts by Magu to “terrorize” them over the Senate’s position.
“At the time, some called our decision political. It wasn’t. We were simply exercising our constitutional duty and standing by what was right,” he said.
Saraki said the Senate’s position came at considerable personal and public cost, adding that the Court of Appeal’s judgement had now reinforced the stance taken by the lawmakers nearly a decade ago.
“Yesterday, the Court of Appeal ruled that Magu’s prolonged tenure as acting EFCC Chairman was indeed unlawful. Nearly a decade later, I feel vindicated yet again,” he said.
The former Senate president said the development underscored the importance of remaining committed to one’s convictions while serving in public office, even when such positions attract criticism.
“For those of us who have had the privilege of serving this nation, the deepest lesson in all of this is that time may test one’s conviction, but it always ultimately reveals the value of standing on principle,” he said.
The Court of Appeal’s judgement concerns Magu’s historical tenure as acting EFCC chairman between 2015 and 2020 and does not affect the commission’s current leadership.
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