By Amos Tauna

A group, Buhari Northern Youth Awareness Forum, has accused Professor Itse Sagay and Human Right lawyer, Femi Falana of hijacking the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

The group alleged that the EFCC, under Ibrahim Magu, was taking directives from Senator Bola Tinubu, on who to probe, which has resulted in the probe of only Northerners, thereby exonerating offenders from the West.

Coordinator of the group, Comrade Muhammad Lawal, made the accusations at a press conference in Kaduna, northwest Nigeria on Monday, on the activities of EFCC, against the North.

According to him “We believed that, EFCC under Magu is being directed, stirred and decision made by Tinubu only violating directives from minister of Justice of the federation and defying rules of the Constitution which is clearly showing distrustfulness and disrespect to Mr President and his administration.

“More shocking is the fact that the EFCC is muscled by men of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Corruption, PACC, like prof. Itse sagay and some lawyers under the guise of Human Rights, like Falana And their cohorts.

“They have constitute themselves into authority in deciding who is corrupt and who is not thereby unilaterally deciding who EFCC should invite, investigate and/or prosecute without due regard to rule of law or constitutionalism.

“It is known that corruption in past administrations is universal and therefore perpetrated by people across ethnic, regional and religious divides, unfortunately what we witness now is the fact that fighting corruption and corrupt people was done against some people in the North while exonerating perpetrators from the west.

“It’s a know fact that the administration of Mr president, Mohammad Buhari comes in to power with integrity and desire to fight corruption at all levels in the country.

“We remember in 2015 when we followed Mr. President to every nooks and crannies of the country where we promise fighting corruption which is the country’s worse nightmare.

“Therefore, it is very unfortunate to see how some people whom Mr President entrusted with fighting corruption where undermining the change agenda of present administration.

“In particular we have observe how the institution like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has engage in selective investigations and prosecution of people who are perceived to be against the interests of people.”

The group however, welcome Mr President back to the country and thank Nigerians for their patients while Mr. President was receiving treatments abroad.

By Amos Tauna

​Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State in northern Nigeria, has urged Nigerians not to relent in their prayers for President Muhammadu Buhari.

He spoke in Sokoto Saturday against the background of the return of Buhari from a medical vacation in the United Kingdom.

In a statement issued by his spokesman, Imam Imam, Tambuwal thanked all those who have prayed for the President’s safe return, and called for more prayers to enable him discharge his responsibilities.

“We have prayed in the past and we will continue our prayers. The President is holding the mandate of Nigerians as such we will continue to pray for him and his deputy to ensure they execute the mandate successfully,” he appealed.

He said the people and government of Sokoto state have rejoiced in the good news of the President’s return, and expressed confidence that the country would continue on its positive trajectory.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has returned to the country on Saturday after more than three months in the United Kingdom for medical treatment for an undisclosed “health challenge”.

The 74-year-old left for London on May 7.

His prolonged absence caused tensions back home where calls have grown for him to either return or resign.
“President Buhari is expected to speak to Nigerians in a broadcast by 7am on Monday,” his office said.

In recent weeks, the office has been releasing photos of officials meeting with the rail-thin but smiling president in the hope of reassuring people back home.

This was Buhari’s second break for medical leave in London this year after a first that began in January and lasted nearly two months.

He reduced his working day to a few hours after returning to Nigeria from his first stint of medical leave on March 10, diplomats and government sources said.

His main opponents in the 2015 election that brought him to power claimed he had prostate cancer. He has denied that claim.

Buhari’s four-year term ends in 2019.

Challenges facing Nigeria

Nigeria’s ongoing challenges include deadly Boko Haram attacks, a weak economy and one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with millions malnourished in the northeast.

With Buhari away, Nigeria has been led by acting president and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who met with the president in London in mid-July and announced that Buhari would return to Nigeria “very shortly”.

Observers fear that political unrest could erupt in Nigeria, particularly in the predominantly Muslim north, should Buhari not finish his term in office. The previous president was a Christian from the south, as is Osinbajo.

The health of Nigeria’s leaders has been a sensitive issue since the 2010 death in office of president Umaru Musa Yar’Adua after months of treatment abroad.

Curled from Aljazeera