- President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, approved the indefinite suspension from the office of Mr. AbdulRasheed Bawa, as the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to allow for proper investigation into his conduct while in office.
- According to NTA, the removal follows weighty allegations of abuse of office levelled against him by some stakeholders in the anti-corruption fight.
- The Department of State Services (DSS) has also summoned him for questioning. The invitation aims to address concerns related to ongoing investigations involving Bawa.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the indefinite suspension of Mr. AbdulRasheed Bawa, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to allow for a thorough investigation into allegations of abuse of office.
According to the statement released by NTA via its Twitter handle, the removal follows weighty allegations of abuse of office levelled against him by some stakeholders in the anti-corruption fight.
Nairametrics reported earlier that The Department of State Services (DSS) summoned Mr Bawa for questioning.
Nairametrics tracked the various reactions to this announcement on social media as netizens expressed their views on it.
Reactions on Social Media
Popular social media critic Daniel Regha believes there is an ulterior motive for the removal of Mr. Bawa. He said:
- “Tinubu suspending the EFCC Chairman means nothing; Bawa was incompetent but let’s not pretend like Tinubu is suspending anyone to fight corruption or fix Nigeria. There’s an ulterior motive. If Tinubu & this administration are serious, they should sack the INEC chairman (Yakubu).”
Tinubu suspending the EFCC Chairman means nothing; Bawa was incompetent but let's not pretend like Tinubu is suspending anyone to fight corruption or fix Nigeria. There's ulterior motive. If Tinubu & this administration are serious, they should sack the INEC chairman (Yakubu).
— Daniel Regha (@DanielRegha) June 14, 2023
Meanwhile, Dr Olisa Agbakoba believes President Tinubu should follow up on the removal of Mr Bawa with the shaking up INEC due to how the 2023 elections went. He said:
- “Full congratulations go to President Tinubu @officialABAT for getting rid of Emefiele, Bawa, fuel subsidy, and forex corruption. Endemic corruption has suffered a massive blow. Next, it is for the president to dismantle INEC @inecnigeria. Everyone will agree that logistically, the 2023 elections are the worst in our history. I do not refer to the merits of the election results. Many results are disputed and are in tribunals. Both petitioners and respondents suffered at the hands of an incompetent INEC…”
Full congratulations go to President Tinubu @officialABAT for getting rid of Emefiele, Bawa, fuel subsidy, and forex corruption. Endemic corruption has suffered a massive blow.
Next, it is for the president to dismantle INEC @inecnigeria. Everyone will agree that logistically,…
— Dr. Olisa Agbakoba SAN (@oagbakoba) June 15, 2023
NEFERTITI indicates that Mr. Bawa should have been going after politicians with corruption allegations and not only internet fraudsters. She said:
- “All Abdulrasheed Bawa did was go after Yahoo Boys. Yahoo Men move around with DSS escort. They have access to the Villa. Why are Madam Palliatives & Hadi Sirika free? Suspending EFCC Chairman now? it came too late. You should have announced his suspension like Subsidy removal.”
https://twitter.com/firstladyship/status/1669067249468973058
Mahdi Shehu believes there is more to the removal of Mr. Bawa as many National Assembly politicians and also those anticipating political appointments have cases with EFCC. He said:
- “SUSPENSION OF EFCC CHAIRMAN: DARKNENESS CHASES AWAY LIGHT. 80% of 9th Assembly & 32% of 10th members are under investigation. 85% of PMB’S appointees are on Efcc radder, so. also 70% of former govns.Most of those waiting for appointments have cases to answer. HOW CAN BAWA SURVIVE?”
SUSPENSION OF EFCC CHAIRMAN: DARKNENESS CHASES AWAY LIGHT. 80% of 9th Assembly & 32% of 10th members are under investigation. 85% of PMB'S appointees are on Efcc radder, so.also 70% of former govns.Most of those waiting for apptmt's have cases to answer. HOW CAN BAWA SURVIVE? pic.twitter.com/Qi5IJpDdWz
— Mahdi Shehu (@shehu_mahdi) June 14, 2023
A user called SportsDokita says there is nothing to rejoice about Mr. Bawa’s removal as he believes President Tinubu is only going after people he has issues with. He said:
- “For those jumping up that Tinubu has suspended EFCC Chairman, Bawa. Tinubu that’s going after everyone that messed with him one after the other, systematically dismantling them. He wants to fight corruption and Hadiri is still a free man, the senator and his wife’s judge are still flexing. Una too dey funny me for this country.”
For those jumping up that Tinubu has suspended EFCC Chairman, Bawa.
Tinubu that’s going after everyone that messed with him one after the other, systematically dismantling them.
He wants to fight corruption and Hadiri is still a free man, the senator and his wife judge is still… pic.twitter.com/TiUiapVkgt
— SportsDokita (Odogwu ☝️) (@Sports_Doctor2) June 14, 2023
Finally, Deji Adeyanju believes Mr. Bawa should either be charged to court or he should be released by DSS instead of being detained without trial. He said:
- “The DSS must release Emefiele and Bawa or charge them to court. The era of political prisoners should be gone forever. The Tinubu government should not be a lawless one like that of Buhari where people are detained unconstitutionally without trial.”
The DSS must release Emefiele and Bawa or charge them to court. The era of political prisoners should be gone forever. The Tinubu government should not be a lawless one like that of Buhari where people are detained unconstitutionally without trial.
— Comrade Deji Adeyanju (@adeyanjudeji) June 15, 2023