The Court of Appeal in Abuja has ruled that Ibrahim Magu’s prolonged tenure as Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was unlawful.
A three-member panel of the appellate court delivered the judgment on Monday while ruling on an appeal filed by lawyer Johnmary Jideobi, who had challenged Magu’s continued stay in office after the Senate rejected his nomination as substantive EFCC chairman twice.
The case followed a 2019 judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which had upheld Magu’s continued appointment as acting chairman and dismissed Jideobi’s suit.
Magu served as acting chairman of the EFCC from 2015 until July 2020, when he was suspended from office.
At the Federal High Court, Jideobi argued that Magu could not remain indefinitely in an acting capacity after the Senate had rejected his nomination. However, the court ruled in December 2019 that the EFCC Act did not specify a time limit for an acting chairman and therefore did not prevent the President from retaining Magu in the position.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, Jideobi appealed to the Court of Appeal. He argued that the EFCC chairman has a four-year tenure, renewable once, and that Magu had exceeded the legally permitted period without Senate confirmation.
He also argued that Magu’s acting appointment had automatically ended after the Senate rejected his nomination.
The respondents in the appeal included the Senate, the Attorney-General of the Federation, the EFCC and Ibrahim Magu.
The Court of Appeal has now overturned the Federal High Court’s decision, ruling that Magu’s prolonged stay as acting EFCC chairman was unlawful.
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