Corrupt elements working against EFCC Chairman, Bawa – CSOs

Civil Society Organisations on Tuesday raised the alarm that the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa is under attack by corrupt elements in the country.

The group which are about a100 Civil Society Organisations claimed Bawa’s offence was his crackdown on “politically-exposed persons, banking malfeasance, contract compromises, procurement fraud, illegal oil bunkering, and advanced fee fraud (Yahoo-Yahoo) and other havocs of financial fraudsters against the nation.”

that cartels and dark forces working to bring the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC Chairman down.

Speaking at a press a press conference on Tuesday in Abuja, the Lead Director, Chief Dominic Ogakwu, said, the EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa was under attack for the wrong reasons by corrupt elements in order to derail his mandate.

The Coalition which comprise Peoples Alliance for Indigenous Rights, PAIR, Center for Public Accountability and Transparency, CPAT, Society for Civic and Gender Equity, SOCEGE and ninety-seven others revealed that the anti-graft agency’s battle has made the uncomfortable and they are out to rubbish the laudable achievement of Bawa at all costs.

Ogakwu who was flanked by other CSO leaders at the conference called for support rather than villifying the agency because corrupt elements could not have their way that much, particularly as the nation faces polls later this month.

He said: “There are attempts by dark forces to derail the anti-graft agency from staying focused on its mandate of tackling corruption.

“Ordinarily, as Nigerians and members of the civil society, we would have let the rabblerousing, attention-seeking and lucre driven individuals to carry on with their show of shame.

“But to keep quiet at such a critical moment when a young man has brought passion, vision, purpose and grit to fighting established cartels, corrupt institutions, dubious individuals and their likes would be unkind to posterity.

“It should be stated unequivocally that Mr. Bawa, the youngest EFCC chairman so far, is a man of ideas whose time has come.

“He is young but endowed with the wisdom of ages as he has demonstrated capacity in cleaning the Aegean Stable of corruption in our country – Nigeria.”

“As a demonstration of his unalloyed commitment in the fight against corruption, sleaze and other financial crimes, the anti-graft agency in 2021 recorded 2, 220 convictions being the largest record of prosecutorial engagements of the EFCC in its 19 years of existence. What a feat!”