The Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, has said that so far, former President Goodluck Jonathan is still innocent over the controversial $2.1 billion arms deal in which the former National Security Adviser (NSA), retired Colonel Sambo Dasuki is a central figure.
Ibrahim Magu said that so far no document has been traced to Jonathan giving any approval for the disbursement of the money for any other purpose than arms purchase.
Magu who spoke when he met with online publishers under the aegis of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), today in Lagos, said that all those who have been investigated in connection with the money were people who disbursed or collected it for reasons other than the purchase of arms and ammunition.
Magu said: “All approvals by former President Jonathan did not mention that it was for political purposes.All the memos approved by him were for the purchase of arms.”
The bulk of the money disbursed from the $2.1 billion had been traced to financing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and promoting the bid of Jonathan to retain the presidential seat in the 2015 general election.
The Director of Media and Publicity of the PDP Presidential Campaign team, Femi Fani-Kayode, confirmed he received N1.7 billion for publicity for the 2015 election.
The National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Olisa Metuh, was also given N400 million out of the money.
Metuh has been with the EFCC since last week Tuesday.
Political parties that did not produce presidential candidates for the election were also given N100 million each to support Jonathan.
The N100 million gift is still causing a major rift in the Social Democratic Party ((SDP), with some state chapters denying they received from the money as alleged by their National Chairman, Chief Olu Falae.
Magu said it was not in the character of the EFCC to just summon people for the sake of it, adding that the Commission does its work thoroughly before inviting anyone and that it had not summoned some people as clamoured in the public space because there were no documents indicting them. [myad]
