Twelve directors of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have been suspended.
On Tuesday, Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation (AGF), sent a letter to Mohammed Umar, acting EFCC chairman, notifying him of the suspension of the directors.
Some of the directors affected by the action have been a part of the team investigating Malami, though the office of the AGF linked the summary exercise to the probe of Ibrahim Magu, suspended acting chairman of the anti-graft agency.
Malami admitted to approving the sale of oils assets seized by the EFCC, but he said the sale followed due process.
Kabir Akingbolu, a human rights lawyer, had said the AGF risked five years in prison for “illegally” approving the auctioning of the sea vessels holding crude oil and diesel.
The suspended acting EFCC chairman was arrested and marshalled before a presidential panel led by Ayo Salami probing the operations of the agency under him last week. He was later suspended and detained.
A slew of allegations has come to the fore since his arrest. He was alleged to have purchased a property in Dubai, United Arab Emirate using a pastor as a conduit.
He was also alleged to have launder over N500 billion through a bureau-de-change in Kaduna.
Magu, through his lawyers, has denied the allegations.