EFCC exposes, debunks another reported fake news, says Abdulrasheed Bawa never arrested, detained for corruption

Nigerians, used to what they call the usual but unfortunate attitude of a section of media in the country, once again took a swipe on Nigerian media Tuesday for always leading “educated yet vulnerable” masses to developing negative minds and criticisms against good policies of government, following an attempted media report to denigrate the appointment of Abdulrasheed Bawa by President Muhammadu Buhari as Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC).

President Buhari had Tuesday transmitted a letter to the President of the Senate of the Federal Republic, Senator Ahmed Lawan, requesting his apex legislative chamber to confirm Bawa as substantive Chairman of the all-important anti-corruption agency.

But a reporter went ahead same day to say the presidential nominee was not without his blemish and wondered how he would scale through the hurdle of screening leading to confirmation by the Senate. This same view was also expressed by a TVC reporter while putting questions to one of his guests on a television programme, on Wednesday.

In a swift dismissal, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said it never detained or arrested Abdulrasheed Bawa, the chairman-designate of the commission, over corruption allegations as claimed by the media reports.

It said this as citizens not happy with some Journalists in this act were being told that their role at a time like this should have been to open up the tasks ahead for Bawa and set the agenda for him to go about tackling them.

The EFCC in a statement by the its spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, on Tuesday, had described the media report about Mr Bawa’s alleged corruption record as illogical.

Mr Bawa currently heads the Lagos zonal office of the commission.

In the statement titled, “Abdulrasheed Bawa Has No Corruption Record”, the EFCC said:

“The attention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has been drawn to a report by an online publication, Peoples Gazette, alleging that Mr Adulrasheed Bawa, the Chairman-designate of the Commission, was arrested and detained by the Agency under former Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, over illegal sale of 244 forfeited trucks to proxies in Port Harcourt.

“The publication claims that the illegal sale was uncovered by the suspended Secretary to the Commission, Ola Olukoyede, who alerted the former chairman, Ibrahim Magu, leading to Bawa’s detention and subsequent redeployment to the EFCC Academy, Abuja.

“The Commission wishes to state categorically that, Mr Bawa was never arrested or detained over the sale of any assets. 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, which remit such matters reside.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the disposal of finally forfeited trucks in the Port Harcourt Zonal Office through a 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.

“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,” Wilson Uwujaren said in the statement.