The former acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu has described himself as a victim of corruption fighting back due to his ordeal in the agency.

Magu, who made the remark while receiving an award as, “Achiever Per Excellence” from the Northern Female Students Association (NFSC) over the weekend in Abuja, was in 2020 suspended as the acting chairman of the EFCC at the beginning of the probe by the retired Justice Ayo Salami-led Judicial Commission of Inquiry on the petition by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) on allegations bordering on abuse of office and diversion of recovered assets.

Represented by his son, Mohammed-Saeed Magu, the former anti-corruption czar thanked the students for honoring his father, adding that, “he was a victim of corruption fighting back.”

Earlier, the leader of the delegation, which comprises of students of higher institutions in the 19 northern states, Aisha Nasir, described Magu as a good man who dedicated himself to national service.

“Love him or hate him, one argument that cannot be contested is the fact that Ibrahim Magu, when he was the chairman of the EFCC, has taken the anti-corruption fight in Nigeria to hitherto uncharted levels where many people thought could never be attained or that no one would have the courage to go in the war against corruption.

“Ibrahim Magu, the poster boy of the anti-corruption crusade, which has become the signature policy engagement of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has attracted both continental and global commendations for tackling what has been described across international platforms, as the number one factor militating against the growth and development of African nations and economies”, she said.

The award is coming on the heels of the October 4, 2022 judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which cleared Prophet Emmanuel Omale of erroneous allegation of laundering the sum of N573 million to purchase a property for Magu in Dubai, UAE.

Justice Yusuf Halilu also awarded the sum of N540.5 million to Omale, who is the General Overseer of Divine Hand of God Prophetic Ministries International, an inter-denominational/multi-religious prayer ministry, against a bank for the falsely generated weekly report of a “suspicious” credit inflow of N573, 228, 040. 41 million, to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), which led to his summon by the Judicial Commission of Inquiry. (Sunday Tribune)