The acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, has vowed to pursue the case against wanted former Chairman of the defunct Presidential Task Force on Pension reforms, Abdulrasheed Maina, to a conclusive end.
Speaking when he appeared on Channels TV this morning, Magu said the commission has commenced the renewed investigation into Maina’s case and that they are determined to get to its logical conclusion. “We are determined to get to the root of this matter. That is why we have renewed the investigation.
We will retrieve all properties or whatever must have been stolen from public funds. This is something that we have done as far back as 2011. The matter has been in court, and Maina was also charged before the court. He was arraigned in absentia. There are real grey areas that need to be tacked properly. All those loopholes and gaps, we will follow it up and make sure all the people who are involved will face the full wrath of the law.”
Speaking further, Magu said anyone found to be protecting Maina would dealt with ‘We would go after everybody who is involved. I am telling you, we will not spare anybody. He has people who are protecting him and that has made it difficult for us to get him arrested. You can imagine, he was promoted. It is devastating, it is beyond my understanding.”
Acctording to the EFCC boss, it is still surprising to know that Maina came into Nigeria despite the fact that he has been on the watch list of the anti-graft agency. “I really don’t know what happened. But I know that he has been properly placed on the watch list and he cannot sneak into this country without the law enforcement agencies. So something is wrong somewhere. Actually we need to look at that.” Speaking on steps currently taken by the EFCC to ensure Maina’s re-arrest, he said, “He has already been declared wanted by the INTERPOL and we are going to visit other countries for assistance, particularly Dubai, USA and UK. We are already on the manhunt, seriously.”
