EFCC Alleges Sponsored Campaign against Bawa

 For the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the wave of protests from various groups against its Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, in recent times, is the handiwork of individuals smarting from their investigations for corruption, Kingsley Nweze writes

In the past few weeks, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa, has been facing a wave of protests from various groups across the country.

Last week, youths who claimed to be the leaders of Arewa Transparency and Democratic Youths Initiatives (ATDYI), North-east Youths Assembly (NYA), Centre for Rights, Justice and Democratic Integrity (CRJD), Middle Belt Forum for Good Governance (MFG), South-east Coalition for Leadership (SCL), and South-west Alliance for Innovation and Good Governance (SAIG), in a statement issued in Abuja, gave Bawa a 24-hour ultimatum to resign or face a series of coordinated mass actions.

In their statement, the six regional leaders – Salisu Yusuf, Sidi Baba Ali, Nadabo Abdullahi Fargo, Yakubu Jonah Ambali, Okafor Oguchukwu, and Babalola Shodipe Abayomi, accused the EFCC boss of gross incompetence and inability to deliver on his key mandate since he was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2021. They stated that after watching what has been going on in the commission since his appointment, they felt sad that something sinister was wrong somewhere in the management of EFCC

They alleged that Bawa’s inefficiency and incapacity have prevented him from running the agency professionally.

 The groups also accused Bawa of selective anti-corruption crusade, adding that his lacklustre performance in office would help to determine his place in Nigeria’s corruption battle.

“The selective anti-corruption crusader in Bawa and his lacklustre performance in office would help to determine his place in Nigeria’s corruption battle. He came, saw but failed to make a difference. His greatest odd is himself and posterity will judge him harshly for self-inflicted blunders and failures,” the statement read.

“His greatest undoing is his inability to resist the tendency for selective prosecution of accused persons, the pre-emptive trial of suspects undergoing investigation and conferring above-the-law status on questionable individuals working within and outside the commission.

 “We are therefore giving Bawa a 24-hour ultimatum to honourably resign from office or be ready to face mass action against his continued stay in office to be coordinated by the Coalition for Pro-democracy/Human Rights groups and Coalition of Nigerians against corruption.

“We shall organise a protest march to the EFCC’s office and other select offices of the Commission and anti-graft agencies across Nigeria to register our disapproval with the grave disobedience to the judgment of the Federal High Court and other courts sentencing Mr Bawa for contempt.”

The protests were triggered by a recent judgment of the Kogi State High Court, Lokoja that jailed Bawa for contempt. His conviction, the second in four months, followed a request by a nephew of Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, Ali Bello, who accused the EFCC chair of violating a court judgment that declared his arrest and detention last year illegal.

 Bello said EFCC arraigned him on December 15, 2022, in violation of the court’s judgment.

 In her ruling, Justice Rukayat Ayoola ordered the Inspector-General of Police to arrest Bawa and put him in prison “until he purges himself of the contempt”.

 But undeterred, the commission went ahead to arraign Bello on another set of N3 billion money laundering charges at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

 Bawa was earlier accused of contempt by the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Abuja on October 28, 2022. The court jailed Bawa but the police which were ordered to enforce the imprisonment, did not take any action. However, the court on November 10, 2022, nullified its committal order following an application by the EFCC chair to reverse itself.

 Ruling on the request, Justice Oji said she was satisfied that the EFCC Chairman did not disregard the court’s orders, asking him to release seized assets belonging to a former Director of Operations at the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Air Vice Marshal Rufus Ojuawo (rtd).

 There is no doubt that Bawa since appointment has rejuvenated the EFCC. In his first year as chairman, the commission made a cash recovery of  N152 billion and $285 million; £1,182,519.75; €156,246.76; 1,723,310.00 Saudi Riyal; 1,900.00 South African Rand, and 1,400.00 Canadian dollars.

Bawa is the first head of the commission to continue the prosecution of high-profile corruption cases as a lead prosecution witness. Despite his crowded official engagements, he has been in and out of courts, testifying in two cases of oil subsidy fraud involving Abubakar Peters and his company, Nadabo Energy Limited, who were accused of allegedly obtaining money under false pretence, diversion of federal government funds and forgery to the tune of N761,628,993.84 before Justice S. S. Ogunsanya of the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos. He also testifies in a 27-count charge before Justice C.A Balogun of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja, where the accused allegedly used forged documents to obtain N1,464,961,978.24 from the federal government as an oil subsidy claim, after allegedly inflating the quantity of petrol purportedly imported and supplied by the company.

 Despite the strong legal representation by the defence counsel in courts, the EFCC has continued to blaze the trail with big wins at the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, and the High Courts across the country, securing 2,220 and 3,785 convictions in 2021 and 2022 respectively.

Responding to the series of protests against Bawa, EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, urged the public to disregard them, alluding that they were sponsored by elements of the Kogi State Government. Uwujaren said it was corruption that was fighting back following the arrest and ongoing prosecution of relatives of the state governor, Yahaya Bello. He described the protesters as “rented crowds” and added that the commission would not be distracted by their demonstrations.

Detailing the tactics employed by the sponsored protesters, Uwujaren said their intention was to blackmail Bawa and force him to resign. He noted that the information available to the commission, “indicates that persons under investigation by the commission sponsor the group.” He also said the persons “have been mobilised and mandated by their paymaster to embarrass the person of the chairman through choreographed street protests across the country until he is removed from office.”

He urged the public to disregard the campaign by these groups as they do not represent the genuine interest of millions of Nigerians who are desirous of seeing progress in the fight against corruption.

The statement read: “The EFCC wishes to raise the alarm about the activities of an amorphous group of so-called Civil Society Organisations who have recently embarked on a campaign to discredit the person of the Chairman of the EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa and incite the public against the commission.

 “The group, through press conferences and staged street protests, has been calling for the sack of the EFCC Chairman for alleged disobedience of court orders. They claim they are motivated by the need to strengthen the fight against corruption.  Contrary to these claims, the EFCC wishes to alert the public that this group has no interest in the fight against corruption and their allusion to disobedience of court orders by the EFCC chairman is an alibi to manipulate facts around judicial pronouncements and processes to pitch the public against the commission.

“Information available to the commission indicates that the group is sponsored by persons under investigation by the commission and have been mobilised and mandated by their paymaster to embarrass the person of the chairman through choreographed street protests across the country until he is removed from office

“It is significant that this group found its voice after the EFCC launched an investigation into the mindless looting of the treasury of one of the states. This same group shouted that the commission lacked the power to investigate the theft of the state’s resources. Their latest dance in the market square came a few hours after family members of a sitting state governor were arraigned at an Abuja court for allegedly stealing the state’s funds.

“EFCC appeals to the public to disregard the campaign by this group as they do not represent the genuine interest of millions of Nigerians who are desirous of seeing progress in the fight against corruption. The spectre of rented crowds, rented CSOs, etc are blights in our social fabric and manifest demonstration of how deep-seated corruption has permeated every sector of our society. We want to assure Nigerians that the EFCC will not be distracted by this campaign of calumny as we believe that this agenda will fail.

“It is also important to reassure Nigerians and all stakeholders that the commission has never, and will not take any steps to undermine the judiciary. As a law-abiding institution, EFCC has conducted all its activities within the ambit of the law. Where judicial decisions were made against it, it has never resorted to self-help but availed itself of remedies under the law as it did in the instant case of committal orders of court,” he said.

Despite the protest against Bawa, in what may look like ain’t seen nothing yet, the commission last Wednesday secured an interim forfeiture of 14 properties in Lagos, Abuja, United Arab Emirates linked to Governor Yayaha Bello at the Federal High Court in Lagos

Justice Nicholas Oweibo granted the order following an ex parte motion filed and argued by EFCC counsel, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN.

Oyedepo informed the judge that the properties, including the one in the world’s tallest building Burj Khalifa in Dubai, UAE, were reasonably suspected to have been derived from unlawful activity.

Oyedepo further told the court that the N400million linked to the state and recovered from one Aminu Falala was reasonably suspected to have been derived from unlawful activity “and intended to be used for the acquisition of Plot No. 1224 Bishop Oluwole Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.”

Justice Oweibo authorised the EFCC to confiscate the sum of N400million. He also directed the (EFCC) to publish the order within 14 days for any interested party to show cause why the forfeiture order should not be made permanently.