Over N580million recovered from detained former EFCC Chairman, Bawa

Report indicates that the Nigeria secret police have retrieved over N580 million from the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa.

According to SaharaReporters, a source in the Department of State Services (DSS) has revealed that the former anti-corruption chief has surrendered over N580 million illegally acquired during his time as the head of the agency.

In June 2023, President Bola Tinubu suspended Bawa indefinitely as chairman of the anti-corruption agency to allow for investigation into the allegations of his abuse of office.

Bawa was taken into custody on June 14, hours after his suspension and remained there. Some have however, called on the DSS to either release Bawa or charge him with offences the secret police’s investigation claim to have discovered.

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) in August 2023, threatened to sue President Tinubu-led government over the continuous detention of Bawa by the DSS without arraignment for proper charges.

On Wednesday, October 20, the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, raised concerns over the government’s continued detention of Bawa and the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, without trial.

“It is indefensible to keep the EFCC Chairman and the CBN governor under arrest for extended periods of time without or before trial, just as it is also unacceptable that political parties are used to intimidate and harass citizens exercising their opinions in the public domain,” Lawal said in his statement.

“Over N580 million has been retrieved from the incarcerated former chairman of the anti-graft agency, EFCC,” one of the sources told SaharaReporters.

According to a publication by SaharaReporters in June, Bawa was reported to have been taken from the headquarters of the secret police to a private facility to have total control over him after he refused to write any statements in custody.

It was learnt that Bawa told investigators that the DSS had no right to detain him without charges, hence his refusal to write any statements in custody.

“They’ve taken Bawa from DSS headquarters to one of their private facilities to have total control over him after he refused to write statements requested from him,” a top security source had said.

“The detained EFCC chairman has refused to write statements; he told DSS they have no right to detain him without charges.

"He was also accused of shielding former Governor of Zamfara, Abdulaziz Yari, while helping him to hunt down his opponents,” a source had told SaharaReporters.

“So far since his detention, he has vehemently refused to cooperate with DSS investigators,” another top source told SaharaReporters.