The Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu says he is delighted that the Nigerian Senate did not confirm him as the substantive head of the anti-graft agency.

Magu stated this on Thursday when he appeared before Justice Doris Okuwobi of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja to testify in a libel suit he filed against The Sun Newspapers.

In the suit, Magu alleged that the media outlet published a series of false and defamatory stories about him, including a March 25, 2017 story in which the paper claimed that two houses had been traced to his wife and that he was being secretly investigated by the Department of State Services (DSS).

Magu had also prayed the court to award him ₦5 billion in damages and to compel the paper to publish a retraction, maintaining that neither he nor his wife purchased two houses in the highbrow Maitama area of Abuja as claimed by the paper.

While under cross-examination by Charles Enwelunta, the counsel to the respondents, Magu said he was not losing sleep over his non-confirmation by the Senate because he might not have been as effective as he presently is if the Upper Legislative Chamber had approved his nomination.

His words: “I have been rejected by the Senate twice and it does not worry me that I’m not confirmed. I’m not bothered. It’s good that they did not confirm me. I may not be able to work very well as we have been able to get over 700 convictions.

“Since I came to the EFCC, nobody has investigated me. I am not under any kind of probe. The publication is totally false. Even if I have the money, I would not buy houses in Maitama.

“My wife is a civil servant. We only have one house which was sold to us in Karu, Abuja. The publication is completely untrue.

“I want to tell you the damage it has done to me. It was not done to me alone, it has gone down my lineage, the entire family and it has done so much wrong. It has done so much damage.”

The case has been adjourned till February 28, 2019 for continuation of proceedings.