. He’s not involved in illegal sale of trucks, says EFCC
. Bawa’ll undergo Senate screening at plenary – Senate President
. Southern, Middle Belt leaders demand Bawa’s probe
SEGUN OLATUNJI & ADELEKE ADESANYA
The newly appointed Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, was once arrested for the theft of over 244 petrol-laden trucks and causing the country to lose about N4.8bn worth of recovered loot, FirstNews has learnt.
Bawa, who was the anti-graft agency’s Zonal Head in PortHarcourt, Rivers State, was reportedly arrested and detained by the EFCC under its suspended acting Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, for allegedly auctioning off the trucks at “ridiculous prices” under controversial circumstances to his proxies.
He was accused of selling the 244 trucks worth between N20 to N30 million each to his proxies at N100,000 or slightly more, per unit.
One of Bawa’s proxies was said to have sold one of the tankers to a businessman in Ibadan for N14.8 million, but EFCC officials were reported to have lamented that the businessman who evaded the agency’s invitation, could not be arrested or declared wanted by the commission because of the fear that any of such actions could draw public attention to the investigation.
The Peoples Gazette reports at that time were neither confirmed nor denied by the anti-graft agency.
The EFCC, however, on Tuesday, absolved its new boss of allegations of corruption.
But a few hours after President Muhammadu Buhari appointed him as the EFCC chairman on Tuesday, reports of his alleged involvement in corruption surfaced and even went viral.
The anti-graft agency, however, vehemently defended him, saying Bawa had no corruption record.
But officials of the anti-graft agency were reportedly said to have complained that Bawa’s handling of the 244 trucks seized in PortHarcourt late 2019 had deprived the Federal Government treasury of “at least N4.88 billion in potential loot recovery,” Peoples Gazette had reported.
Bawa was said to have sold off the 244 trucks before the forfeiture proceedings on them were concluded, although the Federal High Court had declared them as proceeds of corruption. His action was said to have negated the procedure which stipulates that recovered cash and assets are returned to public coffers upon the conclusion of forfeiture proceedings in court.
Riled by Bawa’s actions, Magu was said to have ordered his detention for some days in PortHarcourt and later transferred him to the EFCC academy in Abuja, referred by many officials of the commission as a ‘Siberia,’ pending the conclusion of the investigation into the alleged offence.
But despite the weighty corruption allegations against Bawa, an online platform, Peoples Gazette, reports that Magu, on August 8, 2020, suddenly ordered his transfer from the EFCC academy in Abuja to Lagos as the head of its field office in the zone.
Peoples Gazette reports that Bawa’s transfer to the Lagos office of the commission considered to be the hub of EFCC operations and the most ‘lucrative’ of the agency’s stations, was inspite of an active probe of his alleged theft of confiscated proceeds of recovered loot at his previous station in PortHarcourt.
Bawa, then a deputy chief detective superintendent, was said to have first been questioned by the then EFCC Secretary, Ola Olukoyede, concerning the whereabouts of the 244 petrol tankers that were under forfeiture by Port-Harcourt zonal office in late 2019, multiple sources, including one official who was present, told the Gazette.
Peoples Gazette also reports that Olukoyede had received complaints that Bawa was tampering with seized assets that were still undergoing forfeiture proceedings in court, an act contrary to the law making it illegal to take possession of a citizen’s assets without a due process, which involves getting a Federal judge to declare such assets as proceeds of public loot.
Bawa was said to have been ordered by the then EFCC secretary to explain what happened to the 244 trucks the zonal office was in the process of securing forfeiture for, but he was unable to do so.
He was said to have later told Olukoyede that Magu directed him to sell off the trucks, but he was said to have failed to state that claim in his statement.
But Bawa’s investigation had yet to be concluded before Magu himself was suspended by President Muhammadu Buhari, who also set up a Presidential Panel headed by retired Justice Ayo Salami to probe allegations of corruption and abuse of office against the acting EFCC chairman.
Olukoyede himself was also suspended along with other high ranking officials of the anti-graft agency in the course of the panel’s probe of Magu.
The removal of Magu eventually paved the way for the emergence of 40-year-old Bawa as the substantive chairman of the EFCC.
Already, President Buhari has, on Tuesday, sent his name as his nominee for the anti-graft agencies topmost office to the Senate for confirmation.
Bawa not involved in illegal sale of trucks – EFCC
But EFCC has denied reports that Bawa illegally sold 244 forfeited trucks to proxies in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The commission in its reaction to claims by an online news medium, Peoples Gazette, alleging that Bawa was arrested and detained by the agency under Magu over illegal sale of the 244 forfeited trucks, said the allegations were not true.
Peoples Gazette had claimed the illegal sale was uncovered by the suspended Secretary to the Commission, Ola Olukoyede, who alerted Magu, leading to Bawa’s detention and subsequent redeployment to the EFCC Academy, Abuja.
But EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, in a statement on Tuesday, said Bawa was never arrested or detained over the sale of any seized asset.
“As Zonal Head of the Port Harcourt Office of the Commission in 2019, Bawa’s responsibilities did not include the sale of assets as the Commission has a full-fledged Directorate of Assets Forfeiture and Recovery Management, in which remit such matters reside,” the statement titled, ‘Abdulrasheed Bawa has no corruption record – EFCC,’ said.
According to the anti-graft agency, the disposal of the forfeited trucks in the Port Harcourt Zonal Office through public auction was conducted after the exit of Bawa as zonal head.
“It is therefore, illogical for him to have been indicted over an auction that was not superintended by him,” EFCC stated.
The statement added, “The auction of trucks at the Port Harcourt Office was among the issues examined by the Justice Ayo Salami Panel, leading to the suspension of some officers of the Commission.
“The Commission, therefore, enjoins the public to disregard the false publication which is believed to be sponsored by mischief-makers to impugn the integrity of the EFCC chairman-designate.”
New EFCC boss’ll undergo Senate screening in plenary – Lawan
But Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, said the screening of the newly appointed Chairman EFCC Chairman, Bawa, will be done in plenary.
Lawan said that would be in line with the Senate tradition.
He stated this on Tuesday when he read the official communication from President Muhammadu Buhari seeking the Senate’s confirmation for Bawa as the substantive Chairman of the anti-graft agency.
President Buhari, in a letter to Lawan, said he was acting in accordance with Paragraph 2(3) of Part1, CAP E1 of EFCC Act 2004.
Meanwhile, the Southern and Middle-Belt Leaders’ Forum has urged President Buhari to order an investigation into the allegations against Bawa to clear the air “on the allegation against this direct cousin of the Attorney General of the Federation before Nigeria enters another Magu season.”
The SMBLF in a statement jointly signed by Yinka Odumakin (South-West), Chief Guy Ikokwu (South-East), Senator Bassey Henshaw (South-South) and Dr Isuwa Dogo (Middle Belt), lamented that “The anti-graft war has suffered so much damage of mismanagement under this regime and this may be the last straw to break the back of its camel.”