The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has blamed recent protests calling for the ouster of its chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, on people who have resented its corruption investigations.
Commission spokesman Wilson Uwujaren addressed reporters on behalf of Mr. Bawa at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday.
Uwujaren described the protesters as “hired mobs” and said the commission would not be distracted by their demonstrations.
He said the information available to the commission “indicates that persons under investigation by the commission sponsor the group.”
He also said that people “have been mobilized and ordered by their paymaster to shame the person of the president through choreographed street protests across the country until he is removed from office.”
He said the commission needed to “raise the alarm about the activities of an amorphous group of so-called Civil Society Organizations” as such is “a campaign to discredit the person of EFCC Chairman Abdulrasheed Bawa and incite the public against of the commission.”
“Contrary to these claims, the EFCC wishes to alert the public that this group has no interest in fighting corruption and its allusion to the disobedience of judicial orders by the EFCC president is an alibi to manipulate the facts in around pronouncements and legal proceedings to pit the public against the commission,” said Uwujaren.
Contempt
There have been reports of protests by a group called the Coalition of Anti-Corruption Organizations calling for the removal of the EFCC chairman and his arrest for contempt.
One of the protesters, Ayodeji Ologun of the Transparency and Accountability Group, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to also overhaul the anti-corruption commission to recapture its past glory and for a better Nigeria.
The protests were sparked by a recent ruling by the Kogi State High Court, Lokoja, which imprisoned Mr. Bawa for contempt.
His conviction, the second in four months, followed a request from a nephew of Kogi state Governor Yahaya Bello, Ali Bello, who accused the EFCC chairman of violating a court ruling that declared his arrest and detention last year illegal. .
Bello said the EFCC prosecuted him on December 15, 2022 in violation of the court’s ruling.
In his ruling, Judge Rukayat Ayoola ordered the Inspector General of Police to arrest Mr. Bawa and imprison him “until purged of contempt”.
The police have yet to enforce the court order, while the EFCC has appealed against the court decision.
But undeterred, the commission proceeded to indict Mr. Bello on another set of N3 billion money laundering charges at the Abuja Federal High Court.
Mr. Bawa was previously cited for contempt by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja on October 28, 2022.
The court imprisoned Mr. Bawa, but the police, who were ordered to carry out the imprisonment, took no action.
The above case was brought by a former Nigerian Air Force (NAF) director of operations, Rufus Ojuawo, a retired Air Deputy Constable (AVM), who was previously prosecuted by the EFCC on corruption charges but was acquitted.
In his application bringing a contempt charge against the EFCC and its chairman, Mr. Ojuawo accused the agency and its leadership of violating the court order on November 21, 2018, ordering them to return his seized Range Rover and N40 million to him.
But on November 10, 2022, the court annulled his commitment order following a request by the EFCC president to reverse it.
Commenting on the request, Ms Oji said she was pleased that the EFCC chairman did not disregard the court’s orders, asking him to release the seized assets belonging to Rufus Ojuawo, a retired air deputy marshal.
EFCC urges the public to ignore the protests
The EFCC on Tuesday described how the protesters’ call for Mr Bawa’s removal based on Mr Bawa’s contempt conviction was intended to incite the public against the commission.
Uwujaren said the group found its voice after the commission launched an investigation against a particular state for looting the treasury.
“Their last dance in the market square came just hours after relatives of a sitting state governor were indicted in an Abuja court for allegedly stealing state funds,” he said.
“EFCC calls on the public to ignore this group’s campaign as it does not represent the genuine interest of millions of Nigerians who want to see progress in the fight against corruption,” the commission said.
Read the full EFCC speech
Sponsored campaign against EFCC Chairman Abdulrasheed Bawa
1. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, wishes to raise the alarm about the activities of an amorphous group of so-called Civil Society Organizations that have recently embarked on a campaign to discredit the person of the President of the EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa. and incite the public against the Commission.
2. The group, through press conferences and organized street protests, has been calling for the removal of the president of the EFCC for alleged disobedience to court orders. They claim to be motivated by the need to strengthen the fight against corruption.
3. Contrary to these claims, the EFCC wishes to alert the public that this group has no interest in the fight against corruption and its allusion to the disobedience of judicial orders by the EFCC president is an alibi to manipulate the facts around the pronouncements and judicial processes to launch the public against the Commission.
4. Information available to the Commission indicates that the group is sponsored by individuals who are being investigated by the Commission and have been mobilized and commissioned by their paymaster to embarrass the person of the president through choreographed street protests across the country. until he is removed from office. office
5. It is significant that this group found its voice after the EFCC launched an investigation into the senseless looting of one of the states’ treasury. This same group shouted that the Commission lacked the power to investigate the theft of State resources. Their last dance in the market square came just hours after relatives of a sitting state governor were arraigned in an Abuja court for allegedly stealing state funds.
6. EFCC calls on the public to ignore this group’s campaign as it does not represent the genuine interest of millions of Nigerians who want to see progress in the fight against corruption. The specter of the rented crowd, rented CSOs, etc. they are plagues on our social fabric and a manifest demonstration of how deep-seated corruption has permeated all sectors of our society.
7. We want to assure Nigerians that the EFCC will not be distracted by this smear campaign as we believe this agenda will fail.
8. It is also important to assure Nigerians and all interested parties that the Commission has never taken and will never take action to undermine the judiciary. As a law-abiding institution, the EFCC has carried out all its activities within the scope of the law. When judicial decisions were handed down against him, he never resorted to self-help, but instead availed himself of the remedies provided by law, as he did in the present case of court orders for internment.
9. It is important to review the circumstances of the two internment orders against the president of the EFCC. The first FCT High Court order on November 8, 2022 was issued for breach of a November 21, 2018 court order ordering the Commission to return seized assets which included a Range Rover SUV and the sum of N40,000,000.00 (Forty Million Naira) to the applicant.
10. For the benefit of the public, said FCT High Court order was issued three years before Abdulrasheed Bawa became EFCC Chairman. In addition, the contempt process is quasi-criminal in nature and the person involved must be notified. In this case, Bawa, as president of the EFCC, did not receive either Form 48 or Form 49.
11. Notwithstanding this fact, the Chief Executive Officer, upon taking cognizance of the said order of 21 November 2018, handed over the Range Rover in question to the Applicant on 27 June 2022 and approved the process for the release of the Naira 40 million. remaining before the commitment order was issued.
12. Your action shows no contempt for the court or the judiciary which you hold in high esteem.
13. In the case of the latest order of Judge RO Ayoola of the Kogi State High Court, the proceedings are still ongoing, so I am forced to make categorical statements. Suffice it to say that by invoking Form 49, the court did not take cognizance of a pending appeal of its November 30 ruling, which ordered the Commission to produce a fraud suspect, Ali Bello. It also did not transmit the records of the appeal to the Court of Appeal.
14. The Commission believes that it was denied a fair hearing as the alleged infringement of the applicant’s rights occurred in Abuja, which is outside the jurisdiction of the Kogi High Court. As a law-abiding institution, the EFCC approached the appeals court for a stay of execution. This is a valid and lawful remedy and does not evoke any aura of impunity or contempt for the judiciary.
15. It is therefore clear that those who claim that Bawa has a penchant for disobeying court orders are simply mischief-making, which is clearly the central theme of the so-called civil society group’s plot.