Magu's Travail and Malami's Forfeiture: The Wheel of Accountability Turns

The Nigerian legal system's pursuit of accountability has taken a significant turn, with recent events highlighting the long and complex processes involved. The travails of Ibrahim Magu, former acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the recent court-ordered forfeiture of properties linked to Abubakar Malami, SAN, the former Attorney-General of the Federation, underscore this ongoing narrative.

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I know the events of those weeks more intimately than most, because I was his counsel.

Magu's ordeal began in July 2020 when he was suspended and subjected to a presidential investigation panel chaired by Justice Ayo Salami. The allegations against him ranged from insubordination to discrepancies in asset recovery. As his counsel, Wahab Shittu, noted, Magu was arrested without a warrant, detained for days without charge, and faced an inquiry that never officially published its findings. Despite denying all allegations, Magu was promoted to Assistant Inspector-General in the Nigeria Police Force and retired with his pension. Shittu observes that the lack of formal charges or a published verdict leaves the situation incomplete, impacting Magu, his accusers, and public trust.

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The two events, read together, tell a story larger than either man, and it is that story, of process, of proof and of the long memory of the law, that this piece sets out to tell.

In a parallel development, the Federal High Court in Abuja recently ordered the final forfeiture of 48 properties connected to Abubakar Malami. Malami's memorandum to the President had formed the basis of the case against Magu. This forfeiture order, occurring six years after Magu's suspension, suggests that the wheels of accountability are indeed turning, albeit slowly.

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The panel’s report, submitted in November 2020, was never officially published; no White Paper ever issued; and, most eloquently of all, no charge was ever preferred against Ibrahim Magu in any court, then or since.

The author argues that accountability achieved through "ambush" or spectacle, rather than due process, fails to serve justice. The contrasting fates of Magu and the property forfeiture linked to Malami present a complex picture of Nigeria's fight against corruption, emphasizing the enduring nature of legal processes and the "long memory of the law."

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I make no triumphal point. I record, rather, the melancholy one: an accusation of that magnitude, pressed with the full weight of the state and then simply abandoned, adjudicated by nobody, leaves everyone worse off, the accused, whose vindication is incomplete because it was never formally pronounced; the accusers, whose motives are forever open to question; and the public, which was promised accountability and given only spectacle.