The Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu has said that the commission is investigating videos showing the Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje receiving bribes in foreign currency.
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The acting chairman said thorough forensic analyses of the videos were being carried out at a facility in London.
An online newspaper, Daily Nigerian had published several videos of Abdullahi Ganduje stuffing stacks of dollars in his clothing on October 14 and 15. The monies shown in the video were allegedly parts of a bribe being collected from a state contractor sometime in 2017.
Since the original videos were published about 4 others have been released as continuation to the first two.
The EFCC had originally said they couldn’t investigate the videos because Ganduje was a sitting Governor and thus enjoyed immunity from investigation and prosecution according to the Constitution.
Mr. Magu however shed more light on the matter while responding to questions after he delivered a lecture titled, ‘Taming Corruption: The Way Forward For African Economic Development’ at Queen Mary University of London on November 23.
Mr. Magu revealed that asides from the lecture, he was in London to conduct a forensic analysis of the Ganduje bribe video.
A Nigerian lawyer studying in the UK, Audu Bulama Bukarti, had raised a question on the videos, wondering why the EFCC investigated former governor of Ekiti State while in office and refused to investigate Mr. Ganduje.
Audu Bulama asked;
“Mr. Chairman was reported by Premium Times yesterday saying you cannot investigate him (Ganduje) for two reasons. One, because he is a sitting governor, and two, it’s subjudice.
Mr. Chairman you investigated Fayose while he was a sitting governor. Secondly, there is a decision of the Supreme Court: Fawehinmi against Inspector General of Police reported in 2002 in Volume 7 of the Nigerian Weekly Law Report, in which the Supreme Court said a sitting governor can be investigated.
The only thing you cannot do is; you cannot arrest him, and you cannot take him to court”…
Mr. Magu replied saying the EFCC does not carry out its investigations on newspaper pages.
“[The Ganduje video] is one of the reasons I am here. I am working on it here [in London]. We are doing forensic analysis of the videos. I don’t have to investigate on the pages of newspaper,”
Mr. Magu said further.