Magu: Malami declares readiness to appear before panel
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, has expressed his willingness to testify before the Justice Ayo Salami-led Presidential investigating the alleged financial infractions against the suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu.
Malami made this known on Wednesday, September 9, while featuring as a guest on Arise TV.
Malami said: ‘So, if indeed the Ayo Salami panel invites Abubakar Malami as a person or the AGF in the person of Abubakar Malami for any testimony, for any clarification, for examination or cross-examination for that matter, Abubakar Malami will wholeheartedly, gladly within the spirit and context of the rule of law be there to testify, be there to be cross-examined, be there to be examined within the context of the rule of law.
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‘Our position as a government is to be submissive to the rule of law and the rule of law component of it requires that when we are called upon to clarify issues, when we are called upon to be examined, when we are called upon to be cross-examined, Abubakar Malami will be there and will gladly cooperate with the inquiry institution and that indeed was an attribute of the government that translated to the victory we are seeing today arising from P&ID.
‘Abubakar Malami has along the line, within the chain of the arbitral process, submitted to uncountable invitations, responded to uncountable requests for clarification of issues and indeed executed uncountable witness statements for the purpose of putting the record straight and the case of Salami will certainly not be an exception.’
Daily Times recalls that Magu had asked the Justice Ayo Salami -led Presidential panel probing him to summon the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF), Mr Abubakar Malami to appear before it.
This came after the AGF had in a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari recommended the sacking of the Magu of alleged infractions in office.
Seeking for Malami’s appearance before the panel, Magu anchored his request on the constitutional principles of fair hearing as provided under section 36 of the amended document.
However, in two separate letters by his counsel, Mr Wahab Shittu, dated August 4, Magu prayed the panel to recall ‘several witnesses who appeared and testified before this judicial commission of inquiry at the time’ he ‘was not allowed to participate in the proceedings and cross-examine such witnesses.’
According to Shittu, his client is legally entitled to be confronted with the allegations leveled against him, especially by Malami, whom he described as his ‘main accuser’.
