A former chairman of the Ikorodu, Lagos chapter of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Bayo Akinlade, says the new helmsman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, must protect the nation’s economy from all those who seek to undermine it and ensure balance in the scale of justice.
In the same vein, ex-publicity secretary of the Benin branch of the NBA in Edo State, Douglas Ogbankwa, urged the anti-graft agency under Bawa to desist from investigating matters pertaining to contracts as the Commission is not for debt collection.
The legal practitioners have also set an agenda for the new EFCC chair, urging him to change the narrative of the Commission and focus on securing a better future for the country. They spoke while reacting to Bawa’s confirmation by the Senate on Wednesday.
In his reaction, Akinlade, a former Chairman of the NBA Ikorodu Branch, said that the arguments surrounding the appointment should now serve as a guide to him on the expectations of Nigerians.
“At 40, Bawa clearly stands in a unique position to transform our nation. He is positioned now to change the narrative; he has to prove that our generation can do better, correct the mistakes of our fathers and the generations before us.
“I urge the new Chairman to be brave, incorruptible and focus on the future of this country; he has to lead those under him towards a moral path; he has to stop all the illegal arrests, detentions and bias investigations. He must protect our economy from all those who seek to undermine it, and must do justice between those in power and those that are not”, Akinlade said.
He added: “Many people will try to discourage him, and try to make him fall into their own hopelessness but he must surround himself with forward-thinking Nigerians with a high moral compass and dream of a corrupt-free Nigeria”.
Reacting, Ogbankwa says Bawa’s confirmation symbolized a new dawn for the EFCC. His words: “I defer to some persons who oppose his appointment. Bawa is a youth. It is high time officials of the organisation took control, as opposed to the Police running the same.
“I know that when you are about to be elevated to a position of authority your detractors come out with gimmicks to pull you down; the chairman must however stay focused. The granting of obnoxious bail conditions should be addressed especially where the administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, provides that the first line of sureties should be blood relatives of the suspects.
“The EFCC should desist from investigating matters pertaining to contracts as the EFCC is not a debt collector as has been stated in a plethora of cases by the Supreme Court and other superior courts of records. The EFCC should not only investigate financial crimes, but also economic crimes, as we rarely hear about oil bunkering, under payment of import duties, currency trafficking, forgery of customs documents among others.
“The EFCC Act provides for interim forfeiture of properties using ex-parte orders. So, any car seized without a court order must be released forthwith. There should also be an electronic tracking system in place to track all seized properties and a public auction sale of the same, after due process, with an open bid, open to public participation and scrutiny”.
