Following the removal of the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, to obey the ruling of the Kogi State High Court, which committed him to prison over contempt, Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, have asked President Muhammadu Buhari to sack Bawa.
The CSOs have commenced a mass protest in Lagos tagged, ‘Bawa Must Go Movement. The groups while protesting in Lagos with different placards, said if Bawa refused to obey court orders, he is not worthy to be in charge of the anti-graft body.
The protesters said the country cannot continue to have Bawa as the head of EFCC because a man who will lead such an agency should be somebody who is above board not a law breaker like Bawa.
The CSOs led by the spokesperson of the Transparency and Accountability Group (TAG), Ayodeji Ologun, said Nigerian democracy will not grow if people in position of power like Bawa continue to disobey order of competent courts in the country.
Ologun said, “We are here today because we are beginning to see anti-democratic elements within the democratic process who are daily drawing us back in the fight against corruption. This a coalition of different civil society organisations against corruption.
“For a while now we have observed that the EFCC chairman fragrantly disobeying court orders and we believe that he who should come to equity must come with clean hands.
“If you are the head of an anti-graft body a d you find it difficult to obey court ruling, such a person is a law-breaker. You cannot be in charge of arresting people that are drawing the country backward in terms of corruption and you will be the one disobeying court orders.
“One if the essence of leadership is obeying the tents of democracy and rule of law and key to that is the court ruling.
“If Bawa has consistently in the last few months disobeyed court orders, he is unfit to sit at the head of the anti-graft body and we are calling for his sack.”
On his part, the coordinator of the Activists for Good Governance, Declan Ihekaire, said Bawa must obey court order commiting him to prison over contempt.
Ihekaire said, “What we are doing here today should not be strange to Nigerians because we are in a situation where things have to be put right. Bawa as EFCC chairman came on board as a result of protest and injustice that was being meted out to Nigerians by the ex-EFCC boss.
“And we felt Bawa coming in, he would make sure things are alright but we have found out that as young as he is, he has refused to obey court orders and he want to send people to prison. And we are saying you can’t be sending people to prison when you refuse to obey the court orders that says you must test the prison.
“If you want to put people there, then you must be able to also go there. He has been persecuted three times and convicted three times by competent courts in this country and three times Bawa has refused to obey. Step walk into prison and test the place and when he test there he will know what he is doing.”
While the leader of the Centre for Public Accountability, Olufemi Lawson, said the CSO, would continue to hold those in position of power accountable despite pressures.
Lawson said, “What to say that we are not unaware of the persistent pressure on the media to underplay what is happening currently at the EFCC. This is just one of the series of action that we are going to be undertaking as Nigerians and we will not relent until the commission begin to toll the part of the rule of law.
“We cannot run a democracy on the wish of and aspirations of a man. It was be consistent with the provisions of our law. And if there is pressure on the media that the reportage of events, I know that the Nigerian media has refused to compromise and we will continue to engage the media and Nigerians to ensure that we expose atrocity against people because the biggest form of corruption is the disobedience to rule of law.”
