Court jails EFCC chairman Bawa for contempt

Abdulrasheed Bawa, Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has been convicted and sentenced over contempt of the court.

Bawa was convicted on Monday by Justice Chizoba Oji of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja.

He was convicted over the failure of the Commission to obey a court order issued on November 21, 2018, to return a Range Rover and the sum of N40, 000,000.00 belonging to a defendant in a case.

The defendant is a former Director of Operations at the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Rufus Adeniyi Ojuawo.

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

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

Ojuawo’s Counsel , Mr. R.N. Ojabo, had drawn the attention of the court to the fact that the EFCC had not complied with the order to return both the vehicle and the said amount.

The judgment read by Justice Chizoba reads: ” 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 (Super charge) and the sum of N40, 000,000.00 (Forty Million Naira).

“Having continued wilfully in disobedience to the order of this court, he should be committed to prison at Kuje Correctional Centre for his disobedience, and continued disobedience of the said order of court made on November 21st, 2018, until he purges himself of the contempt.”