Barely a week after the arrest and consequent interrogation of the Central Bank Governor (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, by the Department of State Service (DSS), President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered the indefinite suspension of the Chairman Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) Abdulrasheed Bawa.
The development, Tinubu said, followed allegation of corruption brought against Bawa at different times, that would be probed.
He is to hand over to Mohammed Umar Abba, a Commissioner of Police, who is the agency’s director of operations.
Bawa’s suspension was contained in a statement Wednesday night by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
The statement, signed by Director Information (OSGF) Willie Bassey, said the suspension is to allow for proper investigation into his conduct while in office.
The statement reads: “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has approved the indefinite suspension from office of Mr. AbdulRasheed Bawa, CON, as the Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to allow for proper investigation into his conduct while in office.
“This follows weighty allegations of abuse of office levelled against him. Mr Bawa has been directed to immediately hand over the affairs of his office to the Director, Operations in the Commission, who will oversee the affairs of the Office of the Chairman of the Commission pending the conclusion of the investigation.”
Of late, Bawa, had come under intense accusation of corruption by some Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).
Matawalle’s as the last straw…
The latest of such allegations came from the immediate past governor of Zamfara state, Mohammed Bello Mutawalle, who claimed he had it on record Bawa demanded $2 million from him.
The EFCC had said it had evidence the former governor pocketed N70 billion from the Zamfara state government’s coffers.
Speaking in an interview with BBC Hausa Service, Matawalle had claimed Bawa can’t be trusted, and that people would get to know the suspended EFCC’s chair after exiting office.
“It is not just to always blame governors. It is not only governors who have treasury, the federal government also has. What does the EFCC boss do to them? As he is claiming he has evidence on governors, let him show to the world evidence of those at the federal level.
“If he exits office, people will surely know he is not an honest person. I have evidence against him. Let him vacate office, I am telling you within 10 seconds probably more than 200 people will bring evidences of bribe he collected from them. He knows what he requested from me but I declined.
“He requested a bribe of $2 million from me and I have evidence of this. He knows the house we met, he invited me and told me the conditions. He told me governors were going to his office but I did not. If I don’t have evidence, I won’t say this.”
EFCC denies
Faulting the ex-governor’s claim, however, EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren had said: “The attention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has been drawn to a trending interview granted to the Hausa Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC, by Bello Muhammed Matawalle, governor of Zamfara State, where he allegedly made wild bribery allegations against the Executive Chairman of the Commission, Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa.
“(Mr) Matawalle’s recourse to mudslinging is symptomatic of a drowning man clutching at straws. But despite the irritation of his phantom claims, the Commission will not be drawn into a mud fight with a suspect under its investigation for corruption and unconscionable pillage of the resources of his state.
“If Matawalle will be taken seriously, he should go beyond sabre-rattling by spilling the beans – provide concrete evidence as proof of his allegations.”
Who is Abba?
With Bawa’s sack, Abba is returning to the saddle for the second time, having being appointed in similar capacity after Ibrahim Magu’s sack.
Born June 22, 1965 in Tudunwada Local Government Area of Kano state. Abba bagged his first degree from Bayero University, Kano and had his one-year mandatory national service at the old Anambra State Police Command.
He got enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force and attended the Nigeria Police Academy, Kaduna State, where he was commissioned in 1992.
Abba, who was seconded to the Commission in January 2016 to head the Counterterrorism and General Investigations(CTGI) Section at the Headquarters in Abuja, was appointed EFCC’s director of operations 2017, a position he held till 2020 when he took over from Magu as acting chairman when the latter was removed from office.
