President Muhammadu Buhari is insisting on the confirmation of discredited Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Alhaji Ibrahim Magu, as the substantive Chairman of the anti-graft agency, it has been revealed.

Quoting credible sources at the Presidency, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) said on Sunday said that Magu’s name had been submitted to the office of Senate President Bukola Saraki. “I can confirm that President Buhari submitted Ibrahim Magu’s name just before he began a 10-day vacation in Britain on Thursday,” the group quoted a presidential source as saying.

HURIW, however, warned the Senate “of the grave and imminent danger in going ahead with the plot to now accept and confirm Magu after thoroughly indicting him based on credible security reports.”

The group in a statement jointly issued by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, and National Media Affairs Director, Miss Zainab Yusuf, warned that the Senate leadership runs the risk of unwittingly turning the national legislature into a mere paper tiger and an appendage of the Executive arm of government should the hierarchy allow the shameless turn-around to accept again, Alhaji Ibrahim Magu for confirmation as substantive Chairman of the EFCC.

“HURIWA believes that converting the National Assembly members into stooges of President Muhammadu Buhari by the inconsistent and contradictory readmission for the purposes of confirmation of a man who the Senate rubbished his integrity and credibility could be one more step towards authoritarianism,” the statement said.

It said Nigerians should hold the Senators responsible should constitutional democracy collapse in the face of the emerging dictatorial tendencies of President Muhammadu Buhari including the blatant disrespect by the Presidency for the powers of the Court system in Nigeria guaranteed under section 6 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of 1999 (as amended).

HURIWA submitted that already President Buhari had used the Department of State Services to harass the Judiciary into cowardly submission.

According HURIWA, President Buhari had on three occasions refused to respect binding orders granted by Courts of Competent Jurisdiction in cases involving erstwhile National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki; Indigenous people of Biafria leader, Nnamdi Kanu and Shiites Islamic Movement leader, Sheikh El Zakzaky.

According to the group, “These brazen disobedience of courts, which is an impeachable offence is so grave just as the legislative sacrilege about to be committed by the Senate in the reconfirmation of Ibrahim Magu as Chairman of EFCC after the damaging security reports surfaced could spell doom for constitutionalism.

“The ongoing trade-off between the Senate leadership and the Presidency would whittle down the constitutional principles of separations of power and would effectively reduce the Legislative Arm of Government as slaves of the power seeking executive arm of government.

“Does the National Assembly lack self respect that it has decided to revisit its vomit by the subterranean readmission for confirmation of Alhaji Ibrahim Magu as Chairman of EFCC after the Nigerian public were told in black and white that the security reports from the Department of State Services clearly indicted Ibrahim Magu as a man who allegedly has double life and fraternises with suspects undergoing investigation by the EFCC that he heads as acting Chairman? This moral recapitulation and submission will cost the National Assembly the remaining respect it has enjoyed in the eyes of rational human beings globally.”

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