Chairman of the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa 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 (Supercharge) 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.”
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