President Bola Tinubu has removed Abdulrasheed Bawa, the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), from office.
The Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) confirmed the indefinite suspension in a brief statement issued Wednesday night.
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Willie Bassey, Director of Information at the SGF’s office, signed the statement, which stated that the EFCC chief’ suspension was the result of “weighty allegations of abuse of office leveled against him.
According to the statement, Mr Bawa was suspended to allow for a proper investigation into his conduct while in office.
Mr. Bawa has been asked to “immediately hand over the affairs of his office to the Director, Operations of the Commission, who will oversee the affairs of the office until the investigation is completed, the Chairman of the Commission’s office will be vacant.
Last month, the immediate-past governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, accused Mr Bawa of attempting to bribe him with $2 million, however, the EFCC denied Mr Matawalle’s claim.
In May, the anti-corruption agency stated that Mr. Matawalle was under investigation for a N70 billion fraud.
It should be noted that the EFCC’s leadership transition has always been fraught with controversy since its formation in 2003.
When his predecessor, Ibrahim Magu, was suspended from office by then-President Muhammadu Buhari in 2021, Mr Bawa took over the helms of affairs at the commission under similar circumstances.
Mr. Bawa was the former President’s second major appointee. The SGF’s statement to the public on the matter was released and it said;
Mr. AbdulRasheed Bawa, CON, as Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has been suspended indefinitely by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, to allow for a proper inquiry into his actions while in office.
This comes on the heels of serious allegations of abuse of office leveled against him. Mr. Bawa has been directed to immediately take over the affairs of his office to the Director, Operations of the Commission, who will oversee the activities of the Chairman of the Commission’s Office until the investigation is completed.
Mr. Bawa has been asked to immediately take over the affairs of his office to the Director, Operations of the Commission, who will oversee the affairs of the Chairman of the Commission’s Office until the investigation is completed.
This comes just six days after the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, was suspended and later arrested by the Department of State Security Service (DSS).
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The suspended EFCC Chairman was previously rumored to be at the State House for a meeting with the president.
According to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation’s Information authority, Willie Bassey, the suspension is to enable for a proper investigation into serious charges of abuse of authority levied against him while in office.
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