Suspended acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr Ibrahim Magu, has again written to the Chairman of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry probing him and the affairs of the commission, asking to be availed of the copies of documents so far tendered against him by those who have appeared before the commission.
Magu, who wrote to the Justice Ayo Salami-led commission through his lawyer, Wahab Shittu, demanded that he be given the necessary documents by the commission to be able to defend himself in view of the weight of criminal allegations levelled against him and the EFCC.
The four-page letter dated August 20, 2020, and addressed to the Chairman of the commission, drew the attention of Salami to the relevant sections of the constitution which require that anyone charged with criminal offences by provided with adequate information to enable them to prepare for their defence.
In particular, Shittu referred Justice Salami to Section 36 (6) (A) (B) CFRN 1999, which provides that ‘every persons who are charged with a criminal offence shall be entitled to be informed promptly in the language that he understands and in details of the offence and be given adequate time and facility to prepare his defence”.
“Based on the foregoing, we request ahead of the defence of our client before the judicial commission of inquiry for the following:
Copies of all presentations/petitions against our client tendered in these proceedings
Access to all exhibits tendered in these proceedings
Access to all relevant case files and documents tendered in these proceedings
Any other material that will be relevant for the purpose of the defence of our client in these proceedings.
“Please note that the foregoing request has become urgent and compelling in view of paragraph 5 of the instrument establishing this judicial commission of inquiry.
“We humbly request you to note that in view of the timeline stipulated above and the need to clarify the duration of the sitting and whether the appointing authority has extended the period, it is of utmost importance that access to the requested documents is granted to our client and his counsel to ensure seamless proceedings and the guarantee of fair hearing as enshrined in the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Magu’s lawyer wrote.
This is the second of such letter to the commission within a period of two weeks. But it was not clear if the commission would acquiesce to the second request having not responded to the first one.
The panel might be preparing to wind up given the fact that the President gave it 45 days within which to conclude its findings and turn in its report unless it the duration is extended.
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