Banks and their officials who helped in concealing stolen funds will soon have their day in court, the acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, said on Tuesday.
He said it was unfortunate that some banks encouraged looting by creating an “enabling environment” for it.
“The banking sector is creating a fertile ground for corruption,” the EFCC chairman said.
Magu spoke in Lagos during an interactive session with the commission’s external lawyers and civil society organizations.
He said it was as if the banks were telling looters: “Go and steal and I’ll hide it for you,” adding that must stop.
“We’ll zoom in on the banks. We need to stop them from creating an enabling environment for corruption to thrive,” he said.
Speaking with journalists on whether the commission would invite wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, for questioning over the $15,591,700 she claims belongs to her, Magu said investigation was ongoing.
“We are on it. You see, we work for the long-term. We must complete out preliminary investigations before we come out,” he said.
Magu told the forum that EFCC sometimes spends up to nine months investigating a case before inviting suspects for questioning, adding that no one who has stolen public funds would be spared.
“We’ll not spare anybody. We can’t protect anyone from answering to the people. Determination is key. I believe we’ll go a long way, and that our tomorrow will be better than our today,” he said.
The EFCC chairman said the commission did not characterize all lawyers as “rogues,”saying the statement was misinterpreted.
