Meet The Man Behind EFCC Boss Committal To Prison As Bawa Speaks On Conviction

Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Rufus Adeniyi Ojuawo, is a former Director of Operations at the Nigerian Air Force (NAF). His is the man behind the case which has landed Abdulrasheed Bawa, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in jail for contempt of court.

The EFCC had arraigned Ojuawo on a two-count charge before Justice Muawiyah Baba Idris of the High Court of the FCT in Nyanya in 2016.

He was accused of receiving N40 million and a Range Rover Sport (Supercharged) from one Hima Aboubakar of Societe D’Equipment Internationaux Nigeria Limited.

But in a judgment delivered on November 21, 2018, Ojuawo, got an court order asking the anti-graft agency to release his N40 million and a Range Rover Sport.  He would later that year filed a suit by his lawyer, R.N. Ojabo, complaining that the EFCC declined to comply with the order for the release of his seized property made by the court.

In the October 28, 2022 ruling, Justice Chizoba Oji held that, “The Chairman Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is in contempt of the orders of this honourable court made on November 21st 2018 directing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abuja to return to the applicant his Range Rover (Supercharged) and the sum of N40, 000,000.00 (Forty Million Naira).”

In a ruling on Tuesday, Justice Chizoba Oji held that the chairman of the anti-graft agency, is in contempt of the order of the court made on November 21, 2018, directing the commission to return to an applicant, his Range Rover (super charge) and the sum of N40 million.

She also ordered that Bawa should be committed to prison at Kuje Correctional Centre Abuja for his disobedience, and continued disobedience of the said order until he purges himself of the contempt.

Justice Oji further directed the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba to ensure that the order of this court is executed forthwith.

The judge rejected the arguments put forward by the lawyer to the EFCC, Francis Jirbo to justify his client’s action.

Meanwhile, Bawa has responded to the judgement which sent him to prison.

Reacting to the judgement in a chat with Daily Trust correspondent and some other journalists, Bawa said an appeal had been filed.

The anti-graft czar, who appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Anti-Corruption to defend his agency’s budget, on Tuesday, said the law would take its natural course.

“Well, we have appealed against it, so we will allow the natural course of law to take its effect.”

He also said the EFCC requested more funding for its Academy and the agency’s operations which he said requires money.

He said, “We are building a brand new EFCC Academy and we need funding for that. Last year N3 billion was allocated and this year nothing was allocated for it, and that is why we are pleading to members that we need to have this new EFCC Academy because of course we have to learn, as fighters of crime we have to be ahead of these criminals and the only way you can do that is by training and re-training and re-training and re-training again. It can never end.

He expressed confidence that, the 9th National Assembly which he described as purposeful would heed the request.

While answering question on the agency’s operations and recoveries made so far, he said that, they have recorded a lot of recoveries and were working in line with the laws guiding forfeiture, disposal and remittances of proceeds of crimes.