Court jails EFCC Boss, Bawa, for contempt

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) head, Abdulrasheed Bawa, was sentenced to prison for contempt by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja.

According to The Nation, the judge, Chizoba Oji, sentenced Mr. Bawa and ordered the Inspector General of Police to imprison him in Kuje jail in Abuja for breaching an earlier court order.

According to the newspaper, Ms. Oji convicted and imprisoned Mr. Bawa on October 28 in a judgment on an application by Rufus Ojuawo, a former Director of Operations of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).

Mr. Ojuawo, a former air vice-marshal (AVM), was previously charged with corruption by the EFCC but acquitted by another judge of the FCT High Court.

In his application charging EFCC and its chairperson with contempt, Mr. O.juawo claimed the agency and its leadership of breaking a court order given on November 21, 2018, asking them to restore his seized Range Rover (SuSuperchargeand N40 million to him.

The order has been in effect since Ibrahim Magu was appointed acting head of the EFCC. After Mr. Bawa became chairman of the EFCC in February 2021, the commission continued to defy the court’s decision.

However, before convicting Mr. Bawa on October 28, the judge disregarded the lawyer’s arguments.

Ms. Oji then directed the Inspector-General of Police to hold the suspect in Abuja’s Kuje jail.

“The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is in contempt of this Honourable Court’s orders of November 21st, 2018 instructing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abuja, to restore to the applicant his Range Rover (Supercharged) and the sum of N40,000,000.00” (Forty Million Naira).

“Having persisted wilfully in defiance to the order of this court, he should be put to jail at Kuje Correctional Centre for his disobedience, and continuous disobedience of the aforementioned order of court given on November 21st, 2018, till he purges himself of the contempt,” the court stated.