Connect with us

society

Corruption allegations: Like Magu, Bawa must quit now, face probe panel – Over 150 CSOs tell FG

Published

on

Corruption allegations: Like Magu, Bawa must quit now, face probe panel - Over 150 CSOs tell FG

Corruption allegations: Like Magu, Bawa must quit now, face probe panel – Over 150 CSOs tell FG

. Say EFCC not conceived as agency for settling political scores

 

 

 

Following Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State’s bombshell, on Wednesday, that he and some other prominent Nigerians have evidence of corrupt practices against the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, notable Anti-Corruption crusaders in Nigeria, numbering over 150, have said he can no longer continue to stay in office.

 

Corruption allegations: Like Magu, Bawa must quit now, face probe panel - Over 150 CSOs tell FG

 

 

The leaders of the organisations who said they had refused to be cowed into shelving their agitation for a genuine fight against corruption in Nigeria, said inasmuch as elected officials must account for their actions in office, they shared Matawalle’s view that the investigations must not be selective but all-embracing.

 

 

 

 

 

According to the activists, the EFCC is an important agency in Nigeria, established to rid the society of corruption with impunity, it was not conceived as an agency meant for settling scores for political godfathers.

 

 

 

 

Led by the Chairman of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, Debo Adeniran, the activists said, at a press conference in Lagos, that it was the standard practice all over the world for officials who have been accused of gross misconduct to step aside while investigations are conducted to ascertain the veracity of the allegations.

 

 

 

 

They, therefore, called for a full probe into the activities of the EFCC under Bawa, saying, “His predecessor, Ibrahim Magu, was not only told to step aside when Bawa’s godfather wanted him out at all costs, he was humiliated out of office and up till tomorrow, no one knows the exact outcome of the probe against him.”

 

 

 

 

According to them, from the interraction of Journalists and CSOs with ordinary Nigerians who had been invited for one reason or the other at the Commission, “there have been several allegations to the effect that about 80 per cent of cases under EFCC investigation are not taken to court. EFCC offices now literally serve as court rooms.”

 

 

 

 

 

“There are damning allegations that some of the Commission’s officials simply negotiate with suspects, get assets and cash retrieved and do plea bargains.  This opens limitless opportunities for corrupt bargaining and self-enrichment by the operatives of EFCC under Mr. Bawa’s watch,” the anti-corruption activists alleged.

 

 

 

 

 

“This needs to be thoroughly investigated by a technical Commission of Inquiry to dig into the modus operandi of EFCC investigations in the last three years by thoroughly analysing records of arrests, investigations, outcomes and final closure of each incident and individual suspects and how the matters were eventually dispensed with,” they demanded.

 

 

 

 

 

In a speech delivered on behalf of the CSOs, their spokesperson, Olufemi Lawson, stated, “Allegations of sharp practices with confiscated assets by the Commission have refused to go away. To this end,  all seized assets need to be forensically audited with a view to recovering all assets re-looted or auctioned in suspicious circumstances.

 

 

 

 

 

“The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, has been convicted for contempt over his failure to comply with an earlier order of the court. As we speak, the Inspector-General of Police has not complied with a court order to commit Bawa to Kuje prison while Bawa has not deemed it fit to purge himself of contempt.”

 

 

 

 

The activists said claims by Bawa that the EFCC had secured 98.93 per cent convictions in 2022, losing only 1.07 per cent, were spurious, noting that a large chunk of the convictions were online fraudsters, while favoured political office holders were left untouched.

 

 

 

 

 

Lawson said, “We are also aware that in December 2022, the Bawa-led EFCC had announced its plan to sell forfeited properties. It also announced later in January that about 12 bids were made for those properties and, later, that six of those bids were successful. No details of this were made public, either to know successful bids or rejected ones. This was a ploy, in our opinion, to make the processes less transparent and, therefore, facilitate corrupt mismanagement of the proceeds or ensure that only their corrupt allies got the opportunity to purchase the assets at giveaway prices. The processes were rendered opaque and that’s very suspicious.

 

 

 

 

 

“The EFCC has done a selective invitation to outgoing Governors in Nigeria, reportedly exempting other government officials who have loads of petitions against them, even by Governors.”

 

 

 

 

 

“If a government agency expected to fight crime is found going about its business in a manner that mimics witch-hunt and selective justice while also being unable to deal with corruption going on within its own workforce, the Coalition of Anti-Corruption Organizations, COACOs, is afraid that the Nation may slide into some real crisis of confidence in our systems, which is bound to provoke a defunding of the EFCC by local and international donor organizations,” the activists stressed.

 

 

Full text

 

BAWA CANNOT REMAIN IN OFFICE WITH DIRECT CORRUPTION ALLEGATIONS AGAINST HIM. HE MUST STEP ASIDE TO BE INVESTIGATED

 

Civil Society leaders here present, fellow Nigerians, ladies and gentlemen of the Press.

As it has been already established months ago, the Coalition of Anti-Corruption Organizations is an amalgam of organizations that are focused on ensuring that public office holders are accountable, law-abiding and verifiably trustworthy, especially those charged with the responsibility of keeping watch over our collective commonwealth to ensure its protection from the roving fingers of corrupt elements in public service.

In the struggle to clean up the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and render its leadership accountable, we do not need any introductions because Nigerians are living witnesses to our patriotic advocacy for a non-corrupt, effective, impartial and transparent EFCC leadership, which we make bold to say Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa has largely messed up.

The recent direct allegations of corrupt practices in the EFCC, mismanagement of seized assets and acts of impunity without regard to the laws of the land, leveled directly against Mr Abdulrasheed Bawa by a sitting governor is a futher confirmation of all that we have been saying about the ignoble conduct of the EFCC under Bawa.

Governor Matawalle of Zamfara State was unequivocal in his direct allegations against Mr Bawa, demanding a probe into his leadership and asking him to step aside immediately. For a sitting Governor to make such far-reaching allegations publicly and saying he and others have evidence to back those allegations is not something to be overlooked by Nigerians and the Presidency especially, which has the power to appoint and fire the EFCC chairman.

Anyone given the responsibility of fighting corruption cannot be consistently floating in the waters of corruption allegations every now and then.

To this end, we in COACOs are consistently monitoring all government processes and engagements as represented by the conduct of government institutions and those put in charge of running them.

It is on the basis of our core values as a group that we have consistently advocated for ensuring that whoever would lead the EFCC must not be trustworthy but also, like Caesar’s wife, be without blemish or reproach upon which we have been demanding the removal of Mr. Bawa because he does not fit the bill of EFCC leadership. In fact, the thought of even retaining or reappointing him is natural repugnant to the sensibilities of enlightened and patriotic Nigerians.

We are aware of several anomalies that have transpired since Mr. Bawa became Chairman of the Commission and to that fact we do not think such an individual should have been made the head of a Commission that is saddled with the responsibility of keeping public and private office holders accountable.

We also wish to remind Nigerians that the Coalition of Anti-Corruption Organizations had on the 15th March, 2023 petitioned Mr President on this same issue and we wonder why no step has been taken in this regard nor an investigation carried out on the issues raised to the best of our knowledge till date.

The raison d’être of our current advocacy is informed by the following ;

1. There have been several allegations to the effect  that about 80% of cases under EFCC investigation are not taken to court. EFCC offices now literally serve as court rooms. There are damning allegations that some of the Commission’s officials simply negotiate with suspects, get assets and cash retrieved and do plea bargains.  This opens limitless opportunities for corrupt bargaining and self-enrichment by the operatives of EFCC under Mr. Bawa’s watch.
This needs to be thoroughly investigated by a technical Commission of Inquiry to dig into the modus operandi of EFCC investigations in the last three years by thoroughly analyzing records of arrests, investigations, outcomes and final closure of each incident and individual suspects and how the matters were eventually dispensed with.

2. Allegations of sharp practices with confiscated assets by the Commission have refused to go away. To this end,  all seized assets need to be forensically audited with a view to recovering all assets re-looted or auctioned in suspicious circumstances.

3. The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, has been convicted for contempt over his failure to comply with an earlier order of the court. As we speak, the Inspector-General of Police has not complied with a court order to commit Bawa to Kuje prison while Bawa has not deemed it fit to purge himself of contempt.

4. In the character of the EFCC Chairman, Bawa led the commission to ignore orders of courts of competent jurisdiction.

5. We are aware that upon his nomination for the position of the Commission’s chairman, in the year 2021, several groups of Nigerians had opposed the appointment of Bawa based on what was described as his not-so-good antecedents.

6. For instance, the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership,CACOL, in a letter dated 18th February 2021, asked the National Assembly to reject the nomination of Mr Bawa as the EFCC, based on several controversies that characterized his tenure in previous positions in the EFCC, given the grave implications of such on the exalted position of the EFCC Chairman.

6A. We are aware of how the EFCC, under Mr. Bawa, is also quickly becoming a cesspool of internal corruption with several reports of corrupt practices going on within the commission as alluded to by Governor Matawalle yesterday.

6B. There are allegations of age falsification to remain in office beyond the statutory limit of civil service regulations, involving very senior officers of the Commission who are said to be cronies of Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa and enjoy his protection.

7. The Bawa-led EFCC claimed that it secured 98.93% convictions in 2022, losing only 1.07%, a claim that is so spurious, considering the fact that a large chunk of the convictions are online fraudsters, leaving out favoured political office holders as if it is not a part of its core duties to investigate politically exposed persons except those its officials are hands-in-gloves with.

8.  We are also aware that in December 2022, the Bawa-led EFCC had announced its plan to sell forfeited properties. It also announced later in January that about 12 bids were made for those properties and later that 6 of those bids were successful. No details of this were made public, either to know successful bids or rejected ones. This was a ploy, in our opinion, to make the processes less transparent and, therefore, facilitate corrupt mismanagement of the proceeds or ensure that only their corrupt allies got the opportunity to purchase the assets at giveaway prices. The processes were rendered opaque and that’s very suspicious.

9. The EFCC has done a selective invitation to outgoing Governors in Nigeria, reportedly exempting other government officials who have loads of petitions against them, even by Governors.

If a government agency expected to fight crime is found going about its business in a manner that mimics witch-hunt and selective justice while also being unable to deal with corruption going on within its own workforce, the Coalition of Anti-Corruption Organizations, COACOs, is afraid that the Nation may slide into some real crisis of confidence in our systems which is bound to provoke a defunding of the EFCC by local and international donor organizations.

We agree with the position taken by Governor Matawalle that
“Bawa should explain, for instance, how he has assumed the role of the plaintiff, prosecutor and jury and how he has executed his brand of plea bargaining with suspected criminals and saboteurs of the Nigerian economy and agenda who instead of being put on trial, are walking freely all over Nigeria”.

OUR DEMANDS

1. The Presidency to commission an Enquiry into the activities of the EFCC, its present engagements and happenings within the Commission throughout Mr Bawa’s stay in office.

2. Order an immediate overhaul of the Commission and, where necessary, lobby the National Assembly to amend the EFCC Act to make the structure less prone to highhandedness and make the Chairmen answerable to the laws of the land.

3. Since there are already direct allegations against him, Bawa must step aside for investigation. This is the standard practice all over the world. His predecessor, Ibrahim Magu, was not only told to step aside when Bawa’s godfather wanted him out at all costs, he was humiliated out of office and up till tomorrow, no one knows the exact outcome of the probe against him.

 

Sgd :

Comrade Debo Adeniran

Comrade Olufemi Lawson

Business

ASR AFRICA FLAGS OFF CONSTRUCTION OF A N280 MILLION INTEGRATED PUBLISHING HOUSE FOR BABCOCK UNIVERSITY, ILISHAN-REMO, OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

Published

on

ASR AFRICA FLAGS OFF CONSTRUCTION OF A N280 MILLION INTEGRATED PUBLISHING HOUSE FOR BABCOCK UNIVERSITY, ILISHAN-REMO, OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

ASR AFRICA FLAGS OFF CONSTRUCTION OF A N280 MILLION INTEGRATED PUBLISHING HOUSE FOR BABCOCK UNIVERSITY, ILISHAN-REMO, OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

 

 

 

 

Sahara Weekly Reports That The Abdul Samad Rabiu Africa Initiative (ASR Africa), the philanthropic initiative of the Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu (CFR, CON), has flagged off the construction of a N280 million Abdul Samad Rabiu Integrated Publishing House for Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State. This project will enhance the capacity of the University from basic press status to a modern, integrated publishing house to encompass publishing, print production, and other related diversified services. The one-storey building facility will serve as a laboratory and studio for training students of communications, media studies, and allied disciplines as well as other disciplines.

 

 

 

ASR AFRICA FLAGS OFF CONSTRUCTION OF A N280 MILLION INTEGRATED PUBLISHING HOUSE FOR BABCOCK UNIVERSITY, ILISHAN-REMO, OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

 

 

 

 

At the groundbreaking event, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Ademola S. Tayo, expressed satisfaction at the nomination by ASR Africa, under its Tertiary Education Grant Scheme. He added that the choice of the project was a response to the vision to take the Mass Communications Department of the University to a whole new level. According to him, the university’s vision is to produce young men and women capable of critical thinking, and problem-solvers capable of proffering innovative solutions to problems of everyday life, be it social, political, and cultural.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In his response, Dr. Ubon Udoh, the Managing Director of ASR Africa, expressed his delight at the University’s choice of establishing an Integrated Publishing House. He added that when information is appropriately applied, human society is empowered to liberate itself from limitations and attain its full potential. Dr Udoh reiterated the commitment of the Chairman of ASR Africa, Abdul Samad Rabiu to supporting quality education within the tertiary education system in Nigeria and urged the institution to focus on the sustainability of this noble project. He also reiterated the importance of cooperation and collaboration between the university and the contractor for the timely delivery of the publishing house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About ASR Africa

ASR Africa is the brainchild of African Industrialist, Philanthropist, and Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, the Abdul Samad Rabiu Africa Initiative (ASR Africa) was established in 2021 to provide sustainable, impact-based, homegrown solutions to developmental issues affecting Health, Education and Social Development within Africa.

 

Continue Reading

society

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, PLEASE, ACT FAST!

Published

on

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, PLEASE, ACT FAST! by Comrade Oladimeji Odeyemi.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, PLEASE, ACT FAST!

by Comrade Oladimeji Odeyemi.

 

 

It’s no longer story that the preparation for the EndSars carnage went on for a while before its actual implementation.

 

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, PLEASE, ACT FAST!
by Comrade Oladimeji Odeyemi.

 

But lack of proactive approach on the part of some people in the government of the day became a recipe for the actualisation of the dastardly act. History is about to be repeated, but I do not expect this to happen under the watch of President Bola Tinubu.

I do not say that people should not be allowed to protest if they have any reason to do so. But given the fact that the country does not have the capacity to separate genuine protesters from hoodlums, unnecessary protest should be curtailed.

Some people may be surprised that I call it unnecessary protest.

Yes, it’s unnecessary because this government has never displayed any act of rigidity since it took the mantle of leadership. It responds even to mere comments on social media expressly within. It is clear to every discerning and positive citizen that this government has become one of the most engaging one since 1999.

It has engaged with the organised labour on the minimum wage and it’s being passed to law. It has won autonomy for local government councils. It is on course for disbursements of students’ loans. It has given tax waiver for certain commodities and goods. You only protest against a government that is either passive, incorrigible or rigid. How can a government that is barely a year in office be protested against even when it has surpassed many of the past ones within one year? That cannot be called a protest but a mischief.

President Bola Tinubu should not be deceived by those who harp on funny fundamental human rights to cause mayhem. America is the country they use as a reference point. But American government does not take untoward attitude from anyone. If you want some you will be given some. There is no way for avoidable discomfort.

Kenyans are licking their wounds at the moment. We must not allow our own case to get to that point. I believe that many of those who are planning for the protest are children who do not know the implications of such a protest. Those who are old among them are those who would gladly set their universities’ libraries on fire in the name of students’ demonstration just because water tap didn’t run at the expected time.

Please, begin to show us that we have someone in charge of our affairs. Be more presidential Your Excellency. We know that it’s those who lost elections in 2023 and those they have recruited among those who think you have not compensated them among your conditional supporters that are behind the protest.

Please, refuse to be blackmailed. No matter what you do, there is but one mind in those people and it is turned against you. Please do everything humanly possible for PH REFINERY to work. Support Dangote Refinery to get crude oil locally.

We must not be importing fuel forever. Therefore, you should beware of the sinister motive of the August 1 planned protest, Your Excellency. May you continue to succeed and may all patriotic Nigerians continue to progress in all spheres of life in the mighty name of God.

Comrade Oladimeji Odeyemi is an entrepreneur, opinion leader and a security analyst.

Continue Reading

society

Law Enforcement Training Institute ( LETI ) Commences Annual Mandatory Training

Published

on

Law Enforcement Training Institute ( LETI ) Commences Annual Mandatory Training.

 

 

The Lagos State Law Enforcement Training Institute ( LETI ) begins her Annual Mandatory Training Exercise for the year 2024 for Law Officers across the state.

The exercise, which will run for a duration of six weeks brings together officers from the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority ( Lastma ), the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps ( Kai ), the Vehicle Inspection Service ( Vis ), the Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps ( Lnsc ) and the Central Business District ( Cbd ) law Officers.

In her opening remarks, the CEO / Head of Leti Mrs Abiola Adeyinka emphasised on the importance of continual training for Law Officers to ” be at their best” and to ” embrace the opportunity to enhance their skills and knowledge.” she stressed the need for professionalism, integrity, and respect for the Rule of Law in the discharge of their duties as respectable officers of the state of excellence. The training program will cover a wide range of topics to include:
* Traffic management and Enforcement.
* Public safety and security.
* Human right and law enforcement.
* Conflict resolution etc.
* Interpersonal relations to mention but few.

Mrs Adeyinka reteirated the State government commitment to ensuring that Leti delivers on its mandate of providing high quality training to Law enforcement Officers in the state.

According to the Ceo, “The Governor of Lagos State has pledged the full support of his administration to Leti in its efforts to enhance the professionalism and effectiveness of Law enforcement in Lagos State. The annual mandatory training exercise is a testament to the Lagos State government commitment to ensuring a safe, secure and well- managed environment for all residents.

Law Enforcement Training Institute ( LETI ) Commences Annual Mandatory Training.

Continue Reading

Cover Of The Week

Trending