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Again, Court Sends EFCC Boss to Kuje Prison
The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, has been committed to prison for allegedly disobeying court order.
The court also directed the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, to effect Bawa’s arrest and remand him in Kuje prison for the next 14 days until he purges himself of the contempt.
Justice R.O. Ayoola of the Kogi State High Court, in his judgement on Monday, granted the application for committal to prison of the EFCC chairman for disobeying a court ruling delivered on November 30, 2022, wherein the EFCC chairman was directed to produce the applicant in the case, Ali Bello.
Ali Bello had dragged Bawa to court for arresting and detaining him illegally, with the court ruling in his favour, only for the EFCC to arraign him for alleged money laundering three days after the ruling.
The EFCC’s applications for setting aside and stay of execution of the ruling were refused for want of merit.
The Court had, in Form 49, Order IX, Rule 13, marked, “HCL/697M/2022” and titled, “Notice to Show Cause Why Order of Committal Should not be Made,” asked the EFCC Chairman to appear before it on January 18, 2022 to explain why he should not be jailed for flouting the order given on December 12, 2022 in a case filed by Ali Bello against the EFCC and Bawa, as the 1st and 2nd respondents, respectively.
The court ordered that the EFCC and Bawa be served the motion of notice together with Form 49 by substituted means.
The court had declared the arrest and detention of the applicant in the face of a subsisting court order made by a court of competent jurisdiction and without a warrant of arrest “or being informed of the offence for which he was arrested” as unlawful, unconstitutional, and in contravention of the personal liberty and dignity of human person guaranteed under Chapter IV of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).
The court had also ordered the respondents to tender an apology to the applicant in a national newspaper and awarded N10 million compensation for him.
February 7, 2023
EFCC Boss Desperate to Tarnish our Image – Kogi Govt Cries Out
The Kogi State Government has once again debunked an allegation of money laundering levelled against it by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, describing it as a sustenance of the persecution of the government by the Abdulrasheed Bawa-led agency.
The government in a swift reaction to a statement by the EFCC on Thursday, argued that the Commission, with its present allegations, had shown clearly that it was desperately seeking to save its face after the Commission hit a road block in its N20bn Sterling Bank “media trial.”
The Commissioner for Information and Communication in Kogi State, Kingsley Fanwo, however, noted that just as with the Sterling Bank affair when the commission went to the media before proper investigation, the EFCC was again set to embarrass itself and its legacy by again jumping to the media to continue its persecution of the Kogi government.
While insisting that no money belonging to the Kogi State Government was laundered, the Commissioner insisted that Nigerians should ask the EFCC if its “biased” corruption searchlight was only meant for Kogi State.
“The media trial by the EFCC is a calculated and orchestrated plan to embarrass the State Government by going after its Officials and Associates with trumped up charges to satisfy the destructive fangs of their paymasters,” Fanwo claimed.
The government in its reaction said that the inclination of the EFCC was against the acknowledgment of due process and financial accountability given to the Kogi State Government by international organisations. It particularly cited the recent honour accorded the Kogi State Government by the World Bank funded SFTAS project in which Kogi was lifted above peers in financial accountability.
The statement read in part: “Our attention has been drawn to a press statement on the website of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to the effect that they arraigned some persons who they alleged were linked with laundering monies belonging to the Government of Kogi State.
“In as much as we would not want to delve into the depth of the matter which is now sub judice, it is pertinent to draw the attention of the general public to the fact that the desperation of the EFCC to crucify Kogi State at all costs may have landed them in another trouble. Unlike the EFCC that has been known for serial contempt of court under the current leadership; we are committed to allow the law to take its due course on the matter and our innocence, again, proven beyond reasonable doubt.
“It would be recalled that this same EFCC once accused the Kogi State Government of stashing 20 billion naira bailout funds in a fixed deposit account in Sterling Bank. When the legal fireworks were about to ruffle their biased feathers, they quickly backed out and claimed the money had been returned to the Central Bank of Nigeria. Till date, they have not shown Nigerians any proof of the return even when Sterling Bank Plc has under oath denied the return of any monies belonging to the Kogi State Government. It is trite that what does not exist cannot be taken or returned.
“The media trial by the EFCC is a calculated and orchestrated plan to embarrass the State Government by going after its officials and associates with trumped up charges to satisfy the destructive fangs of their paymasters.
“Let it be on record that no money belonging to the Kogi State Government was laundered. SFTAS is a World Bank accountability project to ensure the Government stays accountable to the people. For many years, Kogi has won awards as one of the most transparent State Governments in Nigeria. A responsible anti-graft agency would have made Kogi an example of transparency and excellence. However, with its endless wild goose chase, Nigerians would even wonder if EFCC’s obviously biased corruption binoculars are only designed for Kogi State.
“It is not unexpected that the EFCC would feel disappointed that the monies they claimed had been stolen from the coffers of the state have been used to build Nigeria’s best hospitals, good roads, best schools that are about to be commissioned. We cannot help their descent into political pawn. We will continue to make the resources of our state work for our people.
“Nigerians know that the recent Gestapo-like operation against the State was occasioned by EFCC’s failure to sell the “fixed” Bailout funds debacle to the people. They became desperate to save their face from the disgrace bestowed on them by their ‘Destroy Kogi’ Agenda.”
December 16, 2022
Naira Redesign: Dollar Will Fall to N200 – EFCC Boss
The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, has anticipated a drop in the value of United States dollars.
Bawa expressed hope that the US dollar might drop to N200 following the naira’s redesign.
The EFCC boss disclosed this in an interview with Deutsche Welle, Hausa service on Wednesday.
He commended President Muhammadu Buhari for approving the redesigning of the naira.
Bawa said the naira should be redesigned every eight years.
He said, “The law says the redesigning of Naira notes should be done every eight years, but we spent 20 years without any changes on them.
“And that resulted in 85 per cent of money are in circulation not in banks; when CBN came up with this redesigning, dollar moved to N880 and later dropped to N680 or thereabouts.
“So you see with this redesigning, dollar may massively fall, who knows probably to N200.”
In the last few weeks, the naira has been falling against the world’s major currencies.
The naira staged a comeback, recording gains on the parallel market as it exchanged for about N730 to a dollar last week.
November 17, 2022
BREAKING: Court Sentence EFCC Boss To Jail
An FCT High Court has convicted Abdulrasheed Bawa, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for contempt of court.
The conviction came following the failure of the EFCC to comply with a court order asking it to return a Range Rover and the sum of N40 million to the applicant in a suit.
In her ruling, Justice Chizoba Oji held that the anti-crime Commission boss has committed contempt of the orders of the court made on November 21, 2018.
The court order had directed EFCC to return to the applicant his Range Rover (Super charge) and the sum of N40, 000,000.00 (Forty Million Naira).
“Having continued wilfully in disobedience to the order of this court, he should be committed to prison at Kuje Correctional Centre for his disobedience, and continued disobedience of the said order of court made on November 21st, 2018, until he purges himself of the contempt,” the court ordered.
The judge also ordered the Inspector General of Police to ensure compliance to the court order forthwith.
Ojuawo had, in the motion filed by his lawyer, R.N. Ojabo, in a suit marked: FCT/HC/CR/184/2016 argued that the EFCC refused to comply with the order for the release of his seized property, made by the court in a judgment delivered on November 21, 2018.
November 8, 2022
EFCC Denies Involvement In Raid On Justice Odili’s Home
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday denied it carried out an operation on the home of Justice Mary Odili.
Reports of a raid on her home were condemned by the Commission’s spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, who noted that none of its officers carried out any operation on the Justice’s home.
There had been reports earlier that the EFCC had gone to Justice Odili’s home to execute a search warrant, as part of investigations into her husband, former Governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili.
“None of our operatives was there,” EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, said when he appeared on Channels Television’s News at 10.
“It is not an EFCC thing. I have called all the security and law enforcement agencies in the country and they also denied that anybody has been sent to the house to carry out any search or arrest.
“A lot of people are trying to put us at loggerheads with the judiciary. And as you are aware, the work that we do, the judiciary is our biggest partner. They are just trying to cause problem where there is no problem.”
October 30, 2021
We Arrested Over 1,500 Suspects In Six Months – EFCC Chairman
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has arrested hundreds of suspected fraudsters and recovered various sums in different currencies in the last six months.
EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, explained that the commission has been upfront as the central agency coordinating the fight against economic crime in Nigeria, saying several successes have been recorded since he took over the leadership of the anti-graft agency.
“From the time I took over as the Executive Chairman, on the 5th of March 2021, we have recovered over N6 billion, over $161 million, over £13,000, €1,730, 200 Canadian dollars, CFA 373,000, ¥8,430 and 30 real estates.
“We have arrested over 1500 internet fraudsters, many of whom are being prosecuted,” he was quoted as saying in a post shared on the EFCC’s Facebook page on Friday.
Bawa – attributing to available records – revealed that the EFCC has well over 3,408 convictions as of August 2021, while over N6 trillion has been expended so far on the war against terrorism since 2008.
He added that about N5.4 trillion was lost to tax evasion by multinational corporations operating in the country from 2011 to 2021, stressing that this was aside from the theft of resources in the nation’s oil and gas sector.
The EFCC chief believes all hope is not lost as Nigeria, under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, has demonstrated commitment and political will in dealing with the issue of economic crimes through a number of legislative and institutional reforms.
Smuggling, Tax Evasion
Bawa made the remarks on Friday while presenting a paper entitled, “Combating of Crime, Corruption, and implication for Development and Security,” at the 38th Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime, according to the post by the EFCC.
His Deputy Chief of Staff, Sambo Mayana, represented him at the event organised by the Centre for International Documentation on Organised and Economic Crime (CIDOEC), Jesus College, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.
In his presentation, the EFCC boss called on leaders across the world to rise to the challenge of fighting corruption to enhance global economic development and security.
He lamented that economic and financial crimes, including corruption, which manifest in various forms in different nations, were at the core of global development and security challenges.
Citing a report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development OECD, Bawa said, “Resources that could support a country’s development are lost through criminal acts like corruption, tax evasion, money laundering, and others.
“The ‘spoiler’ effects on countries’ development processes are diverse and particularly severe for fragile states; economic crime, including illicit financial flows, diverts much-needed resources needed to rebuild countries’ public services, from security and justice to basic social services such as health and education.”
He stated that the absence of substantial improvement in the living condition of the people in Africa and the rest of the developing countries, in spite of their natural resources endowment, can be blamed on pervasive economic crimes taking place in such countries.
“The incidence of illegal mining, smuggling of goods, tax evasion, illegal oil bunkering, illegal arms deals, just to mention but a few does not allow the government to receive the full accruals from the (Africa) continent’s vast resources that are needed for development.
“The revenue generated are embezzled by government officials and their collaborators in the private sector; this does not allow for economic growth and by extension a hindrance to development,” said the EFCC chief.
September 11, 2021
BREAKING: Senate confirms Bawa as new EFCC Chairman
The Senate on Wednesday approved the nomination of Abdulrasheed Bawa for appointment as the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFFC).
The confirmation followed over two hours of grilling by Senators who sought answers to various questions from the nominee.
In all, 19 Senators asked questions which were articulately responded to by Bawa.
Bawa, while answering questions, noted the EFCC establishment Act empowers the commission to investigate any person suspected to have acquired unexplained wealth without any formal petition in consonance with Unexplained Wealth Order and Act (UWO/UWA) obtainable in advanced countries.
He denied ever selling any asset recovered by the EFCC.
He insisted he is qualified for appointment as EFCC chairman by virtue of his qualifications, training, and rank in the Commission.
He said he was trained as a law enforcement officer to function as an EFCC operative.
He said the EFCC would review secondment of police officers to the Commission which will henceforth be on a need basis.
He promised to lead by example as EFCC chairman.
He said that he is contact with former EFCC chairmen including Ibrahim Magu who congratulated him on his appointment.
Details shortly….
February 24, 2021
BREAKING: Bawa arrives Senate for screening as EFCC chairman
The acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, has arrived at the Senate for screening,
The 40-year-old, if confirmed, will be the youngest person ever to serve as chairman of the nation’s foremost anti-corruption agency.
Bawa will also be the first core EFCC official and non-police officer to head the agency, a feat which has been hailed by a large majority of the EFCC staff.
The nominee’s appointment has, however, been met with criticism following allegations of corruption levelled against him by the previous EFCC leadership.
He is also believed to be the candidate of the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN).
Details later
February 24, 2021