Abdulrasheed Bawa, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has been given a 24-hour ultimatum to vacate office or be ready to face the consequences.
Youth groups from Northern and Southern parts of the country, in a press release on Sunday, said there would be mass action against the EFCC boss should he fail to vacate office as directed by them.
The groups attributed their grievances against Bawa to his alleged selective prosecution of criminal suspects in the country.
They accused the Chairman of the Commission of placing some persons on above-the-law position in the country.
The youth organizations believed that there was a public view of the anti-graft agency as a tool of vendetta and for settlement of political dispute.
The groups, in a press statement endorsed by their representatives – Okafor Ogochukwu, Yakubu Jonah, Abdullahi Fargo, Salisu Yusuf, Babalola Shodipe Abayomi, and Sidi Baba Ali, lamented the high level of corruption at the federal level of governance in Nigeria, calling on the body to probe, arrest and prosecute all agencies of the Federal Government whose activities had been harmful to country’s economic health.
Part of the statement by the groups as obtained from Vanguard, reads in part: “Watching what has been going on in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC since the appointment of Abdulrasheed Bawa, one cannot help but feel sad that something sinister is wrong somewhere in the management of the Commission, the inefficiency and incapacity of Bawa to steer the direction of the agency professionally.
“The selective anti-corruption crusader in Bawa and his lacklustre performance in office would help to determine his place in Nigeria’s corruption battle. He came, saw but failed to make a difference. His greatest odds is himself and posterity will judge him harshly for self inflicted blunders and failures.
“His greatest undoing is his inability to resist the tendency for selective prosecution of accused persons, pre-emptive trial of suspects undergoing investigation and conferring above-the-law status on questionable individuals working within and outside the Commission.
“We are therefore giving Bawa a 24-hour ultimatum to honourably resign from office or be ready to face mass action against his continued stay in office to be coordinated by the Coalition for Pro-democracy/Human Rights groups and Coalition of Nigerians against corruption.
“We shall organize a protest march to the EFCC’s office and other select offices of the Commission and anti- graft agencies across Nigeria to register our disapproval with the grave disobedience to the judgment of the Federal High Court and other Courts sentencing Mr Bawa for contempt.
“We are ready to work with the incoming leadership of the EFCC in order to prevent rights abuses, contempt of courts and disobedience to court orders in the future.
“The public perception of the EFCC as a tool for settling political scores, vendetta, prejudicial trial of accused persons under Bawa’s leadership must be corrected urgently.
“The EFCC should now investigate, arrest and genuinely prosecute all persons in Federal Government agencies whose conduct were detrimental to dipping hands in public treasury, including government officials who personalized public tilt and others involved in stamp duty remittances saga. The current selective prosecution, framing up of some persons and other obnoxious practices against the principles of fair play, equity and justice can no longer be tolerated,” the group further stated.
