Confirmation of Magu will make Senate a paper Tiger- HURIWA 

A civil rights group- HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has warned the Senate President Dr Bukola Saraki of the grave and imminent danger in going ahead with the plot to now accept and confirm Ibrahim Magu as Chairman of EFCC after thoroughly indicting him based on credible security reports.

The Rights group has averred that the Senate Leadership runs the risk of unwittingly turning the National Legislature into a mere paper tiger and an appendage of the Executive arm of government should the hierarchy allow the Volta face and shameless turn-around to accept again Alhaji Ibrahim Magu for reconfirmation as substantive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC).

HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA believes that converting the National Assembly members into stooges of President Muhammadu Buhari by the inconsistent and contradictory readmission for the purposes of confirmation of a man who the Senate rubbished his integrity and credibility could be one more step towards authoritarianism.

HURIWA said Nigerians should hold the Senators responsible should constitutional democracy collapse in the face of the emerging dictatorial tendencies of President Muhammadu Buhari including the blatant disrespect bt the Presidency for the powers of the Court system in Nigeria guaranteed under section 6 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of 1999 (as amended).

The group in a statement to the media jointly issued by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Affairs Director Miss. Zainab Yusuf submitted that already President Muhammadu Buhari had used the Department of State Services to harass the Judiciary into cowardly submission.

According HURIWA President Muhammadu Buhari had on three occasions refused to respect binding orders granted by the Courts of Competent Jurisdiction in cases involving erstwhile National Security Adviser Colonel Sambo Dasuki; Indigenous people of Biafria's Nnamdi Kanu and Shiites Islamic Movement 's Sheikh ElZaczakky. These brazen disobedience of the competent courts which is an impeachable offence is so grave just as the Right group is lamenting that the Legislative sacrilege about to be committed by the Senate in the reconfirmation of Ibrahim Magu as Chairman of EFCC after the damaging security reports surfaced could spell doom for constitutionalism.

HURIWA submitted therefore that the ongoing trade-off between the Senate leadership and the Presidency would whittle down the constitutional principles of separations of power and would effectively reduce the Legislative Arm of Government as slaves of the power seeking executive arm of government.

"Does the National Assembly lack self respect that it has decided to revisit its vomit by the subterranean readmission for confirmation of Alhaji Ibrahim Magu as Chairman of EFCC after the Nigerian public were told in black and white that the security reports from the Department of State Services clearly indicted Ibrahim Magu as a man who allegedly has double life and fraternises with suspects undergoing investigation by the EFCC that he heads as acting Chairman? This moral recapitulation and submission will cost the National Assembly the remaining respect it has enjoyed in the eyes of rational human beings globally ".

HURIWA recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari has again presented the name of Ibrahim Magu, the current acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), as his nominee for the substantive chairmanship of the anti-graft agency.

HURIWA quoting a source at the Presidency said that Mr. Magu’s name had been submitted to the office of the Nigerian Senate President Bukola Saraki. “I can confirm that President Buhari submitted Ibrahim Magu’s name just before he began a 10-day vacation in Britain on Thursday,” the presidential source dislosed.