A group under the auspices of Citizens Voice Against Corruption, CIVAC, has called on Nigerians to look away from what it described as baseless allegations and campaign of calumny against the Justice Ayo Salami Panel.
The group said the selection of Justice Salami by President Muhammadu Buhari to head the panel looking into the allegations levelled on the suspended boss of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, has made the detractors scared, as they already know the possible outcome of the probe.
The thoughts of the coalition were expressed in statement jointly signed and issued on Wednesday by Abdulrazaq Alkali of the Organization for Community Civic Engagement, OCCEN, and Princewill Okori of the Association for Public, Policy Analysis, APPA.
They admonished against attempts to derail the process, adding that the integrity and incorruptible nature of Justice Salami has shown his true character as an anti-corruption champion.
CIVAC further debunked alleged sitting allowances and emoluments accruable to the panel, adding that it was fully in support of the process and would see to it that the probe gets to a logical conclusion.
“We are calling on Nigerians to disregard the baseless allegations and campaign of calumny against Justice Salami and other panel members working hard to investigate these corrupt acts and abuse of office and ensure that the culprits are brought to justice. We also call on the authorities to ensure the security of Justice Salami and other panel members.
“If the defendant’s team are not pleased with the procedure or do not believe in the legality of the investigation panel they are free to seek redress in a court of justice. We will like to call on Justice Salami and his panel members to stay focused and not be distracted by the noise of those who are vehemently opposed to the anti-corruption crusade.
“The recent move by the President Buhari administration to investigate corruption practices within its anti-corruption agencies particularly the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been seen as a welcome development among Nigerians.
“These smear campaigns were first targeted towards the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, simply because he is exposing alleged corrupt practices and abuse of office by the suspended EFCC Boss, Ibrahim Magu, to the president and the investigation panel,” the group added
