Mr Bello’s wife, Rashida, was recently named in a money laundering probe by the EFCC, which said the Kogi first lady conspired to loot billions of naira from the state treasury.
Abdulrasheed Bawa, Kayode Oladele and Yahaya Bello
Abdulrasheed Bawa, Kayode Oladele and Yahaya Bello
Kayode Oladele, a rights lawyer and former chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes, has criticised endorsed the job performance of the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, saying a push to remove him from office by some questionable organisations lacks merit.
He also described the call as “an unrealistic promotion of impunity and illegality not worthy of consideration by the president.”
In a statement issued by the ex-lawmaker over the weekend, he maintained that the Abdulrasheed Bawa-led EFCC has remained focused and committed to the fight against corruption across all sectors in the country.
According to him, the EFCC chairman enjoys the security of tenure. Therefore, the recently reported call is encouraging executive recklessness and impunity. Rather, he enjoined support for the anti-graft agency as Civil society groups are stakeholders and part of their anti-corruption advocacy.
“It was sad to read that some civil society organizations are demanding the sack of the EFCC boss, someone who has done extraordinarily well in the fight against corruption since 2021 when he was appointed,” Mr Oladele said. “Abdulrasheed Bawa has track records in the commission spanning over eighteen years without allegations of bias or unethical behaviour.”
“Abdulrasheed Bawa, prior to his appointment as the Economic Financial Crime Commission chairman, has headed various positions, which include the head of the commission’s operations zonal office in Lagos. He was also the zonal head in Port Harcourt, overseeing Rivers, Bayelsa and Abia operations from January 2019 to December. Bawa also headed the Counter-Terrorism and General Investigation/Pension Unit,” Mr Oladele said.
“He has successfully investigated and testified in the prosecution of many cases leading to convictions and recovery of looted monetary assets across the country. Hence, his competence and ability to perform his functions without fear or favour are not in doubt,” he added.
Mr Oladele’s comments come as Mr Bawa is enduring a political onslaught instigated by Governor Yahaya Bello and other politicians who have been under the EFCC radar in recent months. Mr Bello’s wife, Rashida, was recently named in a money laundering probe by the EFCC, which said the Kogi first lady conspired to loot billions of naira from the state treasury that were later moved to bank accounts in the United States and possibly elsewhere.
Mrs Bello has disappeared from the public’s eye since the charges were filed in December, with the anti-graft office declaring her wanted while charging other defendants in the matter before a criminal court.
Although Mr Bello appeared to have opened the state’s treasury to his wife and other criminal suspects, he could not be charged because he has a constitutional immunity from prosecution as an active governor. Mr Bello’s media aides and political associates strongly deny all allegations of corruption or financial mismanagement against him and his wife.
The case has seen a sudden surge in sponsored protests against Mr Bawa, some of which were held simultaneously in Lagos and Abuja as recently as this week’s Monday. The protesters have been making their case on the back of a bench warrant issued against Mr Bawa by a separate judge, which said the EFCC had flouted extant procedures on the matter.
Still, the EFCC has continued to maintain its independence and constitutional trappings to initiate criminal proceedings against suspects, notwithstanding their creed or social status.