Tinubu suspends EFCC chairman, AbdulRasheed Bawa
By Emma Ogbuehi
The President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has suspended the Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, AbdulRasheed Bawa, from office.
The suspension which is indefinite, is to allow for a thorough investigation into his conduct while in office following weighty allegations of abuse of office against him.
This was contained in a statement by the Director of Information, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Willie Bassey, on Wednesday.
The suspended EFCC chair has been directed to immediately hand over to the Director, Operations in the Commission pending the conclusion of the investigation.
The statement read, “President Tinubu has approved the indefinite suspension from office of AbdulRasheed Bawa, CON, as the Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to allow for proper investigation into his conduct while in office. This follows weighty allegations of abuse of office levelled against him.
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“Bawa has been directed to immediately handover the affairs of his office to the Director, Operations in the Commission, who will oversee the affairs of the Office of the Chairman of the Commission pending the conclusion of the investigation. “
Bawa was recently involved in a row with the immediate past Zamfara state governor, Bello Matawalle, who accused him of engaging in conducts unbecoming of his office and demanding bribe from him.
EFCC had also been in the news lately, when on Tuesday, May 30, its Awolowo Road, Ikoyi Lagos office was invaded by officials of the Department of State Services (DSS), who barricaded the entrance with armoured personnel carriers. While the siege lasted, there was pandemonium within the vicinity of the EFCC as the officials of the commission were prevented from accessing the building. It took the intervention of the President, Bola Tinubu, for the DSS to vacate the premises.
EFCC in a statement by its Spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren said the development was strange to the commission given that it had cohabited with the DSS in that facility for 20 years without incident. The EFCC claimed that denying its operatives access to their offices, the Commission’s operations at its largest hub with over 500 personnel, hundreds of exhibits, and many suspects in detention were disrupted.