Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
Former Senate President Bukola Saraki has said the Court of Appeal’s ruling that Ibrahim Magu’s prolonged tenure as acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission was unlawful has vindicated the position taken by the 8th Senate under his leadership, nearly a decade after the upper chamber rejected Magu’s nomination twice.
Saraki stated this in a post on his X handle on Tuesday while reacting to the appellate court’s decision on the legality of Magu’s continued stay as acting chairman of the anti-graft agency. “Back in 2016 and 2017, the 8th Senate, under my leadership, rejected Ibrahim Magu’s nomination as substantive EFCC Chairman not once but twice. Still, he remained in office illegally until July 2020, without confirmation by the Senate,” Saraki stated.
The former Senate President recalled that the Senate’s decision attracted criticism at the time, with some people attributing it to political considerations. “At the time, some called our decision political. It wasn’t. We were simply exercising our constitutional duty and standing by what was right. My colleagues in the 8th Senate and I, as well as our families and associates, endured what I can only describe as attempts by Magu to terrorise us,” he said.
According to Saraki, maintaining the Senate’s position came at considerable personal and public cost. He said Monday’s judgment by the Court of Appeal had now reinforced the position taken by the eighth Senate nearly a decade ago. “Yesterday, the Court of Appeal ruled that Magu’s prolonged tenure as acting EFCC Chairman was indeed unlawful. Nearly a decade later, I feel vindicated yet again,” he stated.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Monday overturned a 2019 Federal High Court judgment that had upheld Magu’s continued stay as acting EFCC chairman despite the Senate’s rejection of his nomination. A three-member panel delivered the verdict in an appeal filed by Johnmary Jideobi, an Abuja-based lawyer who had challenged Magu’s continued stay in office after the Senate twice rejected his nomination. The Federal High Court had dismissed the challenge in a 2019 judgment, holding that although the EFCC Act required Senate confirmation for a substantive chairman, it did not prescribe a specific period for which an acting chairman could remain in office.
Magu served as acting EFCC chairman from November 2015 until July 2020, when he was suspended by former President Muhammadu Buhari. The Senate rejected his nomination for substantive appointment in December 2016 and again in March 2017, but he remained in office in an acting capacity for more than three years after the second rejection. The legal dispute over his continued stay became a defining confrontation between the executive and the legislature during the first term of the Buhari administration, with the Senate insisting that the failure to confirm Magu meant he could not continue to head the commission.
Saraki said the experience underscored the importance of remaining committed to one’s convictions while serving in public office, even when such positions attract criticism. “For those of us who have had the privilege of serving this nation, the deepest lesson in all of this is that time may test one’s conviction, but it always ultimately reveals the value of standing on principle,” he said. He also invoked the words of Martin Luther King Jr, writing, “It is often said that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
The ruling has reopened a contentious chapter in Nigeria’s anti-corruption history. Magu’s tenure at the EFCC was marked by high-profile prosecutions and a series of controversies, including allegations of corruption and abuse of office that were investigated by a presidential panel in 2020. His suspension by Buhari in July 2020 followed the submission of a report by the Justice Ayo Salami-led panel, which recommended his removal. Magu denied the allegations, but he was never reinstated, and the EFCC has since had two substantive chairmen.
For Saraki, the Court of Appeal’s ruling is a vindication not only of the 8th Senate’s decision but also of his own conduct as Senate President during one of the most turbulent periods in Nigeria’s legislative history. The confrontation between the Senate and the executive over Magu’s nomination tested the separation of powers and raised fundamental questions about the limits of presidential power to keep an unconfirmed appointee in office indefinitely. The Court of Appeal’s decision affirms that the Senate’s constitutional role in confirming appointments cannot be circumvented by the expedient of leaving a nominee in an acting capacity.
The ruling also has implications beyond the Magu case. It clarifies that acting appointments to positions requiring Senate confirmation cannot be extended indefinitely and that the failure to secure confirmation must have consequences. The decision could shape how future administrations handle nominations that face legislative opposition, and it reinforces the principle that the Senate’s power of confirmation is not merely advisory but substantive.
Reactions from other stakeholders were not immediately available. The EFCC has not issued a statement on the ruling, and it is unclear whether Magu or the commission will appeal to the Supreme Court. The judgment is expected to be studied by legal scholars and constitutional lawyers as a significant precedent on the relationship between the executive and the legislature in the exercise of appointment powers.
For Saraki, the ruling brings closure to a confrontation that defined his tenure as Senate President and shaped the political dynamics of the Buhari years. His statement on Tuesday was both a reflection on the past and a reminder that institutions are strengthened when those who lead them stand by their constitutional responsibilities, even at personal cost. As he put it, nearly a decade later, he feels vindicated yet again.
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