Magu: N24bn EFCC complex could have been built for N120bn 

Ibrahim Magu, chairman of the Economic Crimes Commission (EFCC), has defended the use of N24 billion in building a new headquarters.

Speaking with journalists during a tour of the complex in Abuja, on Wednesday, Magu said contrary to insinuations that the money is too much, the value of the building could have been five times the amount used.

He said the EFCC gave the N24 billion to the developers and warned them that “there is no cheating on this at all”.

He said: “Are you saying that N24 billion is too much for this edifice? Then you must be joking.

“Do you know what we have here, just because we procure most of the equipment? If you go and ask any other valuer (sic), they will charge you more than N100 billion.

“Go and see the transformers and the clinic alone, other persons could have used more than N24 billion.

“I am telling you that before you get a property like this, people would ask you for five times the price we used. If you like, you can go round the whole country, but you cannot get a property of this magnitude for N24 billion.”

He added that with corruption “fighting back every minute,” the new office will make the anti-graft agency better equipped in its duties.

“With the relocation to a more befitting office, the EFCC will be adopting a winning formula in its anti-corruption drive,” he said.

“We have relocated, so we are going to change strategy. We will fight it to the extent that you will be satisfied that we have fought enough.”