Re: Magu’s Chief of Staff Not Under Investigation- EFCC

The story published by First Weekly Magazine on the alleged investigation of the Chief of Staff to the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu, Pastor Ola Olukoyede is a product of information given to us by some sources that we felt know much about the organisation.

However, we wish to use this opportunity to retract the story and offer our unreserved apology over the publication with reference to a statement from the EFCC, which was signed by its Head of Media, Mr. Wilson Uwajuren denying the authenticity of the report.

We wish to state here that we did not set out to disparage the person of Pastor Ola Olukoyede as we acted based on some information that were given to us, but we have since discovered that this is not a true reflection of what transpired in the respected anti-graft commission.

As a media organization, we see ourselves as a friend of the EFCC and this is reflected in some of the stories we have done about the commission in the past.

It will be recalled that we broke the posting of a former Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde to the Special Fraud Unit of the Nigerian Police at a time some people were spreading rumours that he has been sacked as a public official by the Federal Government.

We also broke the news of the return of N650 Million cash to the EFCC by a daughter of Chief Richard Akinjide, who is also a former minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Jumoke Akinjide, which she allegedly fraudulently received from a former petroleum minister, Diezani Alison Madueke amongst other stories.

As a media organisation, we don’t write reports based on rumour or hearsay, we verify all our claims before going to press, but we have since discovered that we were misled on the story we wrote about Pastor Ola Olukoyede.

We see our media organization as a partner in progress with the Federal Government of Nigeria and that is what we have been doing since inception.

The report on Pastor Ola Olukoyede is totally regretted as we didn’t mean to disparage his person or the EFCC as a body.

As a media organisation, we don’t malign people or seek their downfall and we avoid fake news as much as possible.

It is not in our place to destroy anybody with our publication as we are out to ensure that the people are well informed, while they are not misled in anyway.

We regret whatever embarrassment the report must have caused both Pastor Ola Olukoyede and the EFCC at this material time that our nation is seeking an end to corruption in our body polity.

First Weekly Magazine is always ready to do its best to give positive image to an organization such as the EFCC, which we believe is working hard to bring back sanity into the system and make Nigeria a better country for all of us by putting an end to graft and corruption.

Signed:

First Weekly Magazine’s Management