It has been gathered that disgruntled members of staff of the commission have been fingered as leaking vital information about Magu’s activities to the Office of the AGF’s office, paving the way for his ongoing probe by a presidential panel.
Magu is answering questions on the 21-point allegation of financial impropriety and fund diversion levelled against him by Malami.
The panel widened the probe last Thursday as it quizzed the commission’s Secretary, Mr. Olanipekun Olukoyede, and other directors of the commission.
THISDAY learnt that the panel summoned the top management officers from the commission to narrate all they knew about the allegations against their boss.
At the end of their conversation, the panel was said to have directed the directors and sectional heads in the EFCC to produce files of cases handled since 2015, including forfeited assets’ register and all cash releases within seven days.
However, some the EFCC officials told THISDAY at the weekend that many of them were disgruntled with Magu’s stewardship and accused him of high handedness and neglecting staff welfare.
They said there was a point Magu owed a backlog of salaries and allowances, adding that they had it tough under his leadership.
Magu was said to have worked with a few investigators and operatives called ‘Magu Boys” to the detriment and envy of others, triggering a backlash in the form of leakages of official documents and files.
“At a time, workers were owed five months arrears of salaries and allowances and they threatened to take the matter to a popular radio talk show, “Berekete Family,” aired by Human Rights Radio, to express their grievances and call on the management to clear the arrears of salaries and allowances,” a source told THISDAY.
It was learnt that the threat led the EFCC management to intervene after giving several excuses that the agency’s money was held up “somewhere.”
“At a point, we were owed five months arrears of salaries and allowances. We could not feed our family and do basic things.
“We were organised and threatened to go to Berekete Family (radio show). We gave them an ultimatum, which they could not meet but at the dying minute, they called to say they have found money to pay,” another source, who spoke anonymously, said.
He added that the workers queried the position by the management that they found money to pay.
He said: “Why do you have to owe for five months and now have to find money to pay? This is a government agency, an important security agency at that. Where were the arrears kept that you had to look for it for five months?”
THISDAY gathered that investigators who worked closely with Magu were allegedly accorded special treatment, which brewed bad blood that eventually led to internal sabotage.
When contacted by THISDAY, spokesman of the commission, Mr. Dele Ojewale, declined to comment on the matter. (Thisday)
