A group of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) has again urged Usman Alkali-Baba, the Inspector General of Police to the judgment committing Abdulrasheed Bawa, chairman of the Economic and Crimes Commission (EFCC), to Kuje Prison, Abuja.
The CSOs made the call in a statement signed by Debo Adeniran, CACOL’S executive chairman; Mogbojuri Kayode, Executive Director, Citizens Rights Advocacy Group; Executive Director, Zero Graft Centre, Kolawole Sanchez-Jude; Chairman, Coalition Against Corruption and Bad Governance, Toyin Raheem and five others.
They said the CSOs had come out en masse for seven consecutive days against the politicisation of EFCC, disobedience of court orders and infringement on human rights of Nigerians under Bawa.
“Rather than act honourably and step aside in view of his status as a convicted official, Mr. Bawa has continued to act as if Nigerian laws are made differently for different Nigerians. He has continued to approach the courts to secure convictions in alleged criminal matters even when he has remained defiant to the judgments of the same courts.
“To the best of our knowledge, the judgment committing the EFCC Chairman to Kuje prison for contempt has yet to be upturned by any higher court in the country. Our position therefore remains that the subsisting Court orders must be obeyed before any further actions can be considered by Mr. Bawa.
“Recall that at the last town hall meeting of this Coalition, we requested through a seven-day ultimatum, that the Inspector General of Police enforce the order of the court and ensure the arrest of Mr Bawa as ordered.
“Today, we are here to restate that the Inspector-General of Police is duty-bound as directed by the court to produce Mr Bawa in order to ensure that he serves his prison term,” the statement reads in parts.
The group also commended President Muhammadu Buhari for bailing the country out of a judicial quagmire by dissociating the Presidency from any act of disobedience to court orders and making the Central Bank of Nigeria comply with a Supreme Court order that extended the validity of old naira notes till December 31, 2023.
It further called on the President to wade into the seeming fixation of the EFCC on certain individuals and the desperation of the chairman of the commission to score cheap political goals through unwarranted media trials of non-convicted individuals in the country.
The CSOs asked Buhari to direct Bawa to step aside until he purges himself of contempt as ruled by the High Court, and the incoming administration of the president-elect, Bola Tinubu to restructure the EFCC
“We are also not unaware of some sponsored campaigns for the incoming administration to retain the services of Mr Bawa as the head of the EFCC.
“While we concede that it is the exclusive preserve of the President to appoint whoever is deemed fit to head the EFCC and other similar agencies of government, we cannot but as stakeholders state that Mr. Bawa has become deficient in character and as such should be the least considered by any administration determined to truly fight corruption for such a sensitive position which demands not only professional competency, but also high moral value,” the statement added.
