The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), AbdulRasheed Bawa, has been suspended indefinitely, according to a statement issued by the Director of Information at the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Willie Bassey.
The statement disclosed that the suspension was approved by President Bola Tinubu to allow for a proper investigation into many of the “weighty” allegations surrounding his time in office.
“Mr. Bawa has been directed to immediately handover 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,” the statement said.
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With this, Bawa becomes the second head of an institution to be suspended under the approval of Tinubu, following the suspension of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor Godwin Emefiele last Friday.
Like Emfiele, Bawa is currently in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS). A statement signed by Peter Afunanya, DSS spokesperson, on Thursday, said that Bawa arrived a few hours ago at the secret service headquarters, Abuja on invitation.
Last month, the Coalition of Arewa Civil Society Organizations, a northern group, had asked for Bawa’s resignation following allegations of corruption and abuse of office leveled against him.
“The fourth executive chairman, Mr. Bawa, has been at the center of so many corruption allegations even before his appointment as the chairman, which was believed to be surrounded by so many controversies and mysteries,” the group’s chairman Adamu Aminu Musa said in a statement.
Former governor of Zamfara State, Bello Mattalle, also accused the former anti-graft head of corruption. The governor said Nigerians will only learn how corrupt Bawa is when he leaves office.
“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,” he said.
However, Tinubu’s decision to suspend Emefiele and Bawa has stirred mixed reactions from Nigerians. While many believe that the president is making the right calls to sanitize the affected institutions, others believe that he is being vindictive – removing those he believed had opposed his presidential ambition to replace them with his loyalists.
Read the full statement below:
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FEDERATION
14th June, 2023
PRESS RELEASE
PRESIDENT BOLA AHMED TINUBU SUSPENDS BAWA INDEFINITELY FROM OFFICE AS CHAIRMAN ECONOMIC & FINANCIAL CRIMES COMMISSION
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.
2. This follows weighty allegations of abuse of office leveled against him.
3. Mr Bawa has been directed to immediately handover 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.
Willie Bassey
Director, Information