A High Court sitting in Abuja has remanded the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa, in prison custody for allegedly failing to return a seized Range Rover Sport worth N40 million to a suspect.
In a ruling by Justice Chizoba Oji, the EFCC chair was found guilty of contempt of court order.
The Story.
Justice Orji had in an earlier ruling on November 21, 2018, issued a court order for the EFCC to return the vehicle to the accused, the Director of Operations at the Nigerian Air Force, NAF, Air Vice Marshal, AVM, Rufus Adeniyi Ojuawo who was on trial at the time.
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Ojuawo, at the time, was on trial on a two count charge of allegedly receiving the Range Rover Sport, valued at N40 million from one Hima Aboubakar of Societe D’Equipment Internationaux Nigeria Limited.
Meanwhile, counsel to the defendant, Mr. R.N. Ojabo, recently notified the court of EFCC’s refusal to honour the court order.
The Outcome
Displeased by the commission’s behavior and flagrant disrespect of the court, Justice Orji, ordered the arrest and remand of the EFCC Chairman over his wilful disobedience to an extant order of the court.
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“The Chairman of the 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”, Justice Orji held.
Meanwhile, spokesman for the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, on Tuesday, said the agency would appeal against the ruling.