I don’t know when Magu probe will end - Salami

Justice Ayo Salami, the Chairman of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry set up to probe the suspended acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr Ibrahim Magu, has said he does not know when the probe will end.

Salami, who is a former President of the Court of Appeal, said this during a chat with The Punch on Thursday, August 20, 2020.

When asked when the probe would end, he said, “I really don’t know.”

He subsequently refused to speak afterwards and did not respond to phone calls.

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had while inaugurating the seven-man panel on July 3, 2020, given it 45 days to round up its activities and submit its report.

Buhari listed the seven members of the panel to include Salami (North-Central); Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Michael Ogbezi (South-South); a representative of the Federal Ministry of Justice, Muhammad Babadoko (North-Central); and Hassan Abdullahi from the Department of State Services (North-Central).

Others are Muhammad Shamsudeen from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (North-West), Douglas Egweme from the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (South-East) and Kazeem Atitebi (South-West), who serves as the secretary.

However, 47 days after, the panel is still interviewing people.

The Punch learnt that over 20 people had testified before the panel including some persons standing trial for corruption in several courts across the country.

A lawyer to Magu, Mr Tosin Ojaomo, told The Punch that the panel’s activities had become confusing.