Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa has reacted to the court ruling sending him to the Kuje Correctional Centre for contempt.
The court had ordered the EFCC to return to a defendant, a former Director of Operations at the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Rufus Adeniyi Ojuawo, his Range Rover, and N40 million.
The EFCC had arraigned Ojuawo on a two-count charge before Justice Muawiyah Baba Idris of the High Court of the FCT in Nyanya in 2016.
The judge further directed the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba to ensure that the order of this court is executed forthwith.
Consequently, the Judge ordered that Bawa should be committed to prison at the Kuje Correctional Centre for his wilful disobedience to the order of the court.
Reacting to the judgement in a chat with newsmen during the 2023 budget defence with the House of Representatives Committee on Anti-Corruption, Bawa said an appeal had been filed, adding that the law should be allowed to take its natural cause.
“Well, we have appealed against it, so we will allow the natural course of law to take its effect,” Bawa said.
On its budget, Bawa appealed to the committee to increase funding for EFCC to enable it to fight corruption effectively.
“Well, we have appealed against it, so we will allow the natural course of law to take its effect.”
He also said the EFCC requested more funding for its Academy and the agency’s operations which he said requires money.
He said, “We are building a brand new EFCC Academy and we need funding for that. Last year N3 billion was allocated and this year nothing was allocated for it, and that is why we are pleading to members that we need to have this new EFCC Academy because of course we have to learn, as fighters of crime we have to be ahead of these criminals and the only way you can do that are by training and re-training and re-training and re-training again. It can never end.
He expressed confidence that the 9th National Assembly which he described as purposeful would heed the request.
While answering questions on the agency’s operations and recoveries made so far, he said that they have recorded a lot of recoveries and were working in line with the laws guiding forfeiture, disposal and remittances of proceeds of crimes.
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