…Bags Forensic Institute Fellowship Award
Former Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Mustafa Magu, has stated that the fight against corruption in Nigeria must be waged across all sectors of society, with collaboration between security agencies, judiciary, professional bodies, schools, and the public.
Magu made this call on Thursday at the induction ceremony of the Chartered Institute of Forensics and Certified Fraud Investigators of Nigeria (CIFCFIN), held at the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), Abuja.
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The retired Assistant Inspector General of Police, who was also inducted as a Fellow of CIFCFIN, stressed that no single individual or institution could succeed alone in combating corruption.
He said, “I will make sure I am involved in every struggle, because the struggle will continue.
“Any investigation you want to make, what you are doing or what you are taking before the court must be watertight. You have to bring the forensic aspect.”
Magu urged CIFCFIN leadership to intensify collaboration with the judiciary, schools, and other professional bodies to mainstream anti-corruption education and forensic investigation practices.
“I want to appeal to the president and members of the council, we should collaborate. Yesterday, I saw some primary school and secondary school boys around, I thought they were going to be part of us. Because there is a need for us to extend down, as it should be included in the curriculum, fighting corruption. Everybody is involved, whether you like it or not,” Magu said.
He warned that corruption was too vast to be tackled by an individual or isolated institutions.
“Corruption must be fought across board, everybody. One man cannot fight corruption,” he emphasised.
Magu likened the institute’s current stage to the formative years of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), which, according to him, started with an open-door approach in its quest to build membership.
“ICAN started like this. In fact, initially they were looking for anybody who had qualification, who had a degree in any background. If you go, they would just mob you in, because they were looking for people. So I am telling you, in maybe the next five years, it is going to be very hot,” he predicted.
The former EFCC chairman stressed the need for synergy with judicial bodies to ensure forensic evidence is better appreciated in courtrooms.
“The accountants and lawyers, and even personally, I want to appeal to you that we should also involve the judges. There should be collaboration between the institute and judicial institute. Whenever they are having any forum, we should learn to sensitize everybody, so that these things are very well understood,” he said.
He recalled the early challenges of institutionalising anti-money laundering measures in Nigeria, particularly during the establishment of the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).
“You remember when we started the money laundering, when we were involved in the establishment of the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit. It was very difficult for the people to understand the concept of money laundering itself. It took time. It is still lingering.
“So, there is a need for us to put it together, let people know the importance of what is coming on here,” he said.
According to Magu, forensic investigation remains indispensable in strengthening corruption cases before the courts.
“If you must have a very tight case, then you have to bring in the policy examiners,” he added.
Speaking to THE WHISTLER after his induction, Magu expressed delight over his conferment as a Fellow of CIFCFIN, describing the recognition as transparent and encouraging.
“I’m delighted, extremely delighted. It gives me an encouragement to continue whatever we are doing, because forensic investigation, forensic auditing and investigation is essentially something as fighting corruption.
” So I believe that everybody must be involved in fighting corruption. That is the only way we can succeed,” he said.
He maintained that he had no prior knowledge of the fellowship award until it was announced.
On what informed the decision of the Institute to bestow this honor on him, Magu explained that “I wouldn’t know [why I was selected], because I was not part of the team that selected me.
“But I think that because of what I did [good works] and I’m telling you, the choice was very, very transparent. Nobody contacted me, nobody did. They had a good choice. It was done very, very transparently.”
Looking back on his career, the ex-EFCC boss said the honour serves as motivation for continued service.
“I think it wants to encourage people to continue doing what I did. And it also gave me a lot of reason for me to move forward,” he added.
Earlier, the Pioneer President and Chairman, Governing Council of CIFCFIN, Dr. Iliyasu Gashinbaki, commended Magu for his fight against corruption despite the difficulties that came with leading the EFCC, saying, “Once you fight corruption, corruption will fight back.”
Gashinbaki said, “It is with a lot of excitement, anxiety and great happiness today that I’m privileged to preside over this ceremony of inducting you as a Fellow of the Institute,”
He described the EFCC chairmanship as “the most difficult job in Nigeria.”
He said, “No matter how well it’s done, you will still have people that will say it’s not done enough. Within the EFCC, it started like a gossip, but later it became known that the codename of my boss here, even before he became EFCC chair, we called him General. And why? Because of his nature of approach, the military precision way of doing things, and the inflexibility of standing on the path of the truth.”
Gashinbaki noted that while corruption often fights back, history tends to vindicate those who fight with integrity.
“Once you fight corruption, corruption will fight back. But history has a way of vindicating people that are born that way. We know the circumstances under which he left the Commission, but we know also thereafter, nothing came after all of that. And he served his full term in the Nigerian police, retired honorably,” he stated.
While inducting Magu, Gashinbaki expressed confidence that his wealth of experience would greatly benefit the institute.
“From today, you have joined the professional cycle of fraud investigators and forensic professionals across Nigeria and on the continent.
“We are very confident that your wealth of experience as the former number one anti-corruption czar of the country will benefit richly the Council of the Institute and the body of professionals of forensic and fraud investigators in this country,” he declared.
Magu’s induction comes after a distinguished career in public service. Born on May 5, 1962, in Maiduguri, Borno State, he attended Yerwa Practicing Primary School before proceeding to Government Secondary School, Waka Biu, where he graduated in 1980. He later studied Accounting at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, graduating in 1986.
He holds advanced qualifications including a Postgraduate Certificate in Corruption Studies from the University of Hong Kong, a Master’s degree in Anti-Corruption Studies from the University of Abuja, and another in Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice from ABU Zaria.
He is currently pursuing a PhD in Security and Strategic Studies at Nasarawa State University, Keffi.
Magu joined the Nigeria Police Force in 1990 as a Cadet ASP and rose to the rank of Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) before his retirement.
He was a founding officer of the EFCC in 2003 under pioneer Chairman, Nuhu Ribadu, and later served as Deputy Director of the Directorate of Internal Affairs before being appointed Acting Chairman of the Commission in 2015.
During his tenure, Magu oversaw numerous high-profile cases, including the Abacha loot recovery, the Halliburton scandal, the James Ibori case, oil subsidy fraud investigations, and several cross-border bribery probes involving multinationals like SIEMENS and Wilbros.
Internationally, he collaborated with the FBI, US Department of Justice, World Bank Institute, and other agencies in building Nigeria’s anti-money laundering and anti-corruption frameworks.
Magu also played a prominent role in the 8th Regional Conference of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Commonwealth Africa, where he was elevated to the position of chairman.