Former Senate President Bukola Saraki says the Court of Appeal’s declaration that Ibrahim Magu’s prolonged tenure as Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was unlawful has vindicated the position taken by the 8th Senate nearly a decade ago….
Former Senate President Bukola Saraki says the Court of Appeal’s declaration that Ibrahim Magu’s prolonged tenure as Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was unlawful has vindicated the position taken by the 8th Senate nearly a decade ago.
Saraki said the Senate’s decision to reject Magu’s nomination twice came at a significant personal cost to lawmakers, their families and associates, whom he alleged were subjected to attempts by the former EFCC chief to “terrorise” them.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Monday overturned a 2019 Federal High Court judgment which had upheld Magu’s continued stay in office despite the Senate’s rejection of his nomination as substantive EFCC chairman.
Magu served as acting EFCC chairman from November 2015 until July 2020, when he was suspended by then-President Muhammadu Buhari. The Senate rejected his nomination for substantive appointment in December 2016 and again in March 2017.
Reacting to the appellate court decision in a post on X on Tuesday, Saraki recalled the confrontation between the Senate and Magu during his tenure as Senate President.
“It is often said that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice,” Saraki wrote.
He said the Senate’s rejection of Magu was not politically motivated, despite criticism of the decision at the time.
“We were simply exercising our constitutional duty and standing by what was right,” he said.
Saraki alleged that the confrontation had consequences beyond the Senate chamber.
“My colleagues in the 8th Senate and I, as well as our families and associates, endured what I can only describe as attempts by Magu to terrorise us,” he said.
“Doing what was right came at a huge personal and public cost.”
The latest ruling follows a legal battle that began while Magu was still in office. Lawyer Johnmary Jideobi filed the original case in 2017, arguing that Magu could not remain indefinitely as acting chairman after the Senate twice rejected his nomination.
The Federal High Court dismissed the challenge in December 2019, holding that although the EFCC Act required Senate confirmation for a substantive chairman, it did not prescribe a specific period for which an acting chairman could remain in office.
The Court of Appeal has now overturned that position and held that Magu’s prolonged acting tenure was unlawful.
For Saraki, the judgment settles a constitutional and institutional argument that began during the 8th Senate.
“Nearly a decade later, I feel vindicated yet again,” he said.
He added that the episode demonstrated the consequences of taking institutional positions despite the pressure surrounding them.
“For those of us who have had the privilege of serving this nation, the deepest lesson in all of this is that time may test one’s conviction, but it always ultimately reveals the value of standing on principle,” Saraki said.
The ruling relates to Magu’s former tenure between 2015 and 2020 and does not affect the current leadership of the EFCC.
