Following the indefinite suspension of its chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, Arewa groups have urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to consider an immediate and total overhaul of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Alhaji Yerima Shettima, president of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), said this in a statement applauding President Bola Tinubu for suspending Bawa indefinitely and ordering a thorough investigation into the agency’s activities while he was in charge.
Similarly, Arewa Civil Society Organisations (ACSOs) called on the EFCC to respect court orders and stop being vindictive in a statement signed by its chairman, Adamu Aliyu Musa.
In Shettima’s statement, said the president’s move was reassurance of his government’s commitment to addressing the sceptre of endemic, widespread, corruption and political avarice that characterised the eight-year tenure of previous administration attributable to a lack of application of relevant laws against corrupt practices among officials of the regime and the apparent compromise of the EFCC.
While welcoming the federal government action against Bawa, we are also of the view that it needs to extend the measure to include a total overhaul of the EFCC to flush out remnants of Abdulrasheed Bawa’s accomplices entrenched in top positions of the agency.
As we except thorough investigations to expose and punish the extent of compromise and complicity of Bawa, it is equally expected that his major accomplices such as his Chief of Staff, Hadiza Ibrahim Gamawa, be suspended as well and subjected to investigation and subsequent prosecution.
While we once again hail the government action against corrupt practices and officers with corrupt tendencies, we pray that the likes of Bawa shall never again be entrusted with positions of responsibility only to end up letting down the youth constituency.
Meanwhile, we have abiding faith, that in view of his upbringing and eminent legal background, the acting chairman of the EFCC, Abdulkarim Chukkol, cannot afford to disappoint the nation and would pursue the war against corruption with decency and decorum in accordance with the rule of law Yerima stated.
On its part, the Arewa Civil Society Organisations (ACSOs) called for investigation and prosecution of all the former chairman’s allies who also engaged in corrupt practices.
As Chairman of the EFCC, Bawa failed to complied with section 7(2) of the establishment Act 2004 which commissions the EFCC to combat economic and financial crimes, thereby enabling the commission to prevent, investigate, prosecute and penalize economic and financial crimes. Hence, suspending him is the first step towards making things right in the fight against corruption.
He added;
Therefore, we advise Mr President to implement to the anti-corruption agency, an overhaul and holistic change or dissolve the EFCC completely and replace it with a more reliable anti-graft agency that will stand the taste of time, because for now, EFCC has been turned into a money making agency through plea bargains and a weapon for witch hunting of opponents in order to earn back the trust of Nigerians and redeem the image of Nigeria before the world.
The Arewa CSOs gave the Acting Chairman of EFCC Mr Abdulkarim Chukkol, 72 hours to maintain all court orders and restore dignity and normalcy to the agency.