₦airaland Forum

The leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, on Tuesday, urged Nigerians not to expect too much from the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal’s verdict on Wednesday.

He said this in a statement by his media aide, Oluwatosin Osho.

He added that Labour Party, LP, presidential candidate, Peter Obi, will not win at the tribunal.

He further called on those who will lose the case to maintain law and order to avoid throwing the country into unnecessary unrest and chaos.

According to Ayodele: “The judgment will not go the way Peter Obi and his followers want it. He can’t cannot claim any victory through the tribunal and just as I have said, the worst than can happen is a rerun of the election or it will remain the way it is.

“No matter the outcome, losers should maintain law and order; they shouldn’t throw the country into riot because they lost the case.’’

“As it is now, it is still dicey, the rerun isn’t certain but God can change anything. Majority of Nigerians will not like the outcome of the election tribunal, Nigerians should not expect too much from the election tribunal because the powers that be are not willing to let justice prevail.

“They still want to retain power no matter what it takes; it won’t be an easy journey to overturn the outcome of the presidential election. I have said it before that the court will not be able to sack Tinubu if the opposition allows him to win the election.”

Also, the prophet urged the judges to defend the country’s unity by ensuring justice prevails by all means without regard for the various forms of intimidation.

“The judges can either make or mar the country with their judgments. There is tension in the country already, and the best they can do is to ensure justice prevails at all cost without regard for the several forms of intimidation. They should be responsible in delivering judgments regarding the case,” he added.

The first Professor of Geology in Africa, Jamiu Mosobalaje Oyawoye, is dead.

His death was confirmed by his son, Prince Olukitibi Oyawoye, on Monday evening. He was 96 years of age.

Born in Offa in Kwara state on August 12, 1927, Prince Oyawoye, the Aremo of Offa, served as a lecturer at the University of Ibadan between 1960 and 1977. He was appointed a professor in 1966 at the age of 39 and became the first Professor of Geology in Africa.

He also served as the Chairman of the West Africa Examinations Council.

Reacting to his death, the Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, in a condolence message signed by his spokesman, Rafiu Ajakaye, described Oyawoye’s death as a huge national loss.

The governor said the death of Africa’s first professor of geology was the end of a great era in academic accomplishments, dedication to community service, and statesmanship.

“My heartfelt condolences go to the Olofa of Offa, Oba Mufutau Gbadamosi Esuwoye II, the Olofa-In-Council, the Muslim community in Kwara State for whom he was the Baba Adini, and the Oyawoyes on this sad development.

“Prof. Oyawoye was in a class of his own in philanthropy, academic accomplishments, community service, leadership, and support for national development. He was one of the last men standing, and his death represents a huge void in everything he represented for Offa people, Kwara State, and Nigeria.

“We find comfort in his fine legacies as the father of Geology in Africa, a powerful Crown Prince of Offa, and a statesman who wielded so much influence and deployed the same for public good. We beseech Allah to forgive his shortcomings, grant him Al-jannah Firdaus, and keep his family on the right path,” ” the governor said.

On his part, the Emir of Ilorin and Chairman Kwara State Council of Chiefs, Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari CFR, described late Oyawoye as a “God fearing scholar who lived his life with full commitment and dedication to the propagation of Islam”.

In a condolence message issued by his spokesman, Abdulazeez Arowona, the Emir said, “He was as a kind-hearted and loving man of integrity and father to all and sundry. The late don raised the bar and promoted the images of Offa community, Kwara State and Nigeria at large with outstanding scholarship and reliable mentoring of generations.”

Also, the Olofa of Offa, Oba Mufutau Gbadamosi Eswuoye II, in a condolence message said the deceased led a fulfilled life.

Accoridng to him, Oyawoye led a fulfilled life which has left behind a rich and enduring legacy, one that will inspire generations to come and that will continue to shape the future of humanity, science, and geology in Africa and beyond.

“Dear all, let us take a moment to honour his memory, to reflect on his life and his achievements, and to draw strength from his example. Let us continue the work that he began, and let us strive to make the world a better place, just as he did. In doing so, we will honor his memory and keep his legacy alive for generations to come,” the Olofa was quoted as saying in a statement signed by his Principal Private Secretary, Olayinka Kadri.

Say EFCC not conceived as agency for settling political scores---Following Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State's bombshell, on Wednesday, that he and some other prominent Nigerians have evidence of corrupt practices against the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, notable Anti-Corruption crusaders in Nigeria, numbering over 150, have said he can no longer continue to stay in office.

The leaders of the organisations who said they had refused to be cowed into shelving their agitation for a genuine fight against corruption in Nigeria, said inasmuch as elected officials must account for their actions in office, they shared Matawalle's view that the investigations must not be selective but all-embracing.

According to the activists, the EFCC is an important agency in Nigeria, established to rid the society of corruption with impunity, it was not conceived as an agency meant for settling scores for political godfathers.

Led by the Chairman of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, Debo Adeniran, the activists said, at a press conference in Lagos, that it was the standard practice all over the world for officials who have been accused of gross misconduct to step aside while investigations are conducted to ascertain the veracity of the allegations.

They, therefore, called for a full probe into the activities of the EFCC under Bawa, saying, "His predecessor, Ibrahim Magu, was not only told to step aside when Bawa's godfather wanted him out at all costs, he was humiliated out of office and up till tomorrow, no one knows the exact outcome of the probe against him."

According to them, from the interraction of Journalists and CSOs with ordinary Nigerians who had been invited for one reason or the other at the Commission, "there have been several allegations to the effect that about 80 per cent of cases under EFCC investigation are not taken to court. EFCC offices now literally serve as court rooms."

"There are damning allegations that some of the Commission's officials simply negotiate with suspects, get assets and cash retrieved and do plea bargains.  This opens limitless opportunities for corrupt bargaining and self-enrichment by the operatives of EFCC under Mr. Bawa's watch," the anti-corruption activists alleged.

"This needs to be thoroughly investigated by a technical Commission of Inquiry to dig into the modus operandi of EFCC investigations in the last three years by thoroughly analysing records of arrests, investigations, outcomes and final closure of each incident and individual suspects and how the matters were eventually dispensed with," they demanded.

In a speech delivered on behalf of the CSOs, their spokesperson, Olufemi Lawson, stated, "Allegations of sharp practices with confiscated assets by the Commission have refused to go away. To this end,  all seized assets need to be forensically audited with a view to recovering all assets re-looted or auctioned in suspicious circumstances.

"The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, has been convicted for contempt over his failure to comply with an earlier order of the court. As we speak, the Inspector-General of Police has not complied with a court order to commit Bawa to Kuje prison while Bawa has not deemed it fit to purge himself of contempt."

The activists said claims by Bawa that the EFCC had secured 98.93 per cent convictions in 2022, losing only 1.07 per cent, were spurious, noting that a large chunk of the convictions were online fraudsters, while favoured political office holders were left untouched.

Lawson said, "We are also aware that in December 2022, the Bawa-led EFCC had announced its plan to sell forfeited properties. It also announced later in January that about 12 bids were made for those properties and, later, that six of those bids were successful. No details of this were made public, either to know successful bids or rejected ones. This was a ploy, in our opinion, to make the processes less transparent and, therefore, facilitate corrupt mismanagement of the proceeds or ensure that only their corrupt allies got the opportunity to purchase the assets at giveaway prices. The processes were rendered opaque and that's very suspicious.

"The EFCC has done a selective invitation to outgoing Governors in Nigeria, reportedly exempting other government officials who have loads of petitions against them, even by Governors."

"If a government agency expected to fight crime is found going about its business in a manner that mimics witch-hunt and selective justice while also being unable to deal with corruption going on within its own workforce, the Coalition of Anti-Corruption Organizations, COACOs, is afraid that the Nation may slide into some real crisis of confidence in our systems, which is bound to provoke a defunding of the EFCC by local and international donor organizations," the activists stressed.


BAWA CANNOT REMAIN IN OFFICE WITH DIRECT CORRUPTION ALLEGATIONS AGAINST HIM. HE MUST STEP ASIDE TO BE INVESTIGATED


Civil Society leaders here present, fellow Nigerians, ladies and gentlemen of the Press.

As it has been already established months ago, the Coalition of Anti-Corruption Organizations is an amalgam of organizations that are focused on ensuring that public office holders are accountable, law-abiding and verifiably trustworthy, especially those charged with the responsibility of keeping watch over our collective commonwealth to ensure its protection from the roving fingers of corrupt elements in public service.

In the struggle to clean up the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and render its leadership accountable, we do not need any introductions because Nigerians are living witnesses to our patriotic advocacy for a non-corrupt, effective, impartial and transparent EFCC leadership, which we make bold to say Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa has largely messed up.

The recent direct allegations of corrupt practices in the EFCC, mismanagement of seized assets and acts of impunity without regard to the laws of the land, leveled directly against Mr Abdulrasheed Bawa by a sitting governor is a futher confirmation of all that we have been saying about the ignoble conduct of the EFCC under Bawa.

Governor Matawalle of Zamfara State was unequivocal in his direct allegations against Mr Bawa, demanding a probe into his leadership and asking him to step aside immediately. For a sitting Governor to make such far-reaching allegations publicly and saying he and others have evidence to back those allegations is not something to be overlooked by Nigerians and the Presidency especially, which has the power to appoint and fire the EFCC chairman.

Anyone given the responsibility of fighting corruption cannot be consistently floating in the waters of corruption allegations every now and then.

To this end, we in COACOs are consistently monitoring all government processes and engagements as represented by the conduct of government institutions and those put in charge of running them.

It is on the basis of our core values as a group that we have consistently advocated for ensuring that whoever would lead the EFCC must not be trustworthy but also, like Caesar's wife, be without blemish or reproach upon which we have been demanding the removal of Mr. Bawa because he does not fit the bill of EFCC leadership. In fact, the thought of even retaining or reappointing him is natural repugnant to the sensibilities of enlightened and patriotic Nigerians.

We are aware of several anomalies that have transpired since Mr. Bawa became Chairman of the Commission and to that fact we do not think such an individual should have been made the head of a Commission that is saddled with the responsibility of keeping public and private office holders accountable.

We also wish to remind Nigerians that the Coalition of Anti-Corruption Organizations had on the 15th March, 2023 petitioned Mr President on this same issue and we wonder why no step has been taken in this regard nor an investigation carried out on the issues raised to the best of our knowledge till date.

The raison d'être of our current advocacy is informed by the following ;

1. There have been several allegations to the effect  that about 80% of cases under EFCC investigation are not taken to court. EFCC offices now literally serve as court rooms. There are damning allegations that some of the Commission's officials simply negotiate with suspects, get assets and cash retrieved and do plea bargains.  This opens limitless opportunities for corrupt bargaining and self-enrichment by the operatives of EFCC under Mr. Bawa's watch.
This needs to be thoroughly investigated by a technical Commission of Inquiry to dig into the modus operandi of EFCC investigations in the last three years by thoroughly analyzing records of arrests, investigations, outcomes and final closure of each incident and individual suspects and how the matters were eventually dispensed with.

2. Allegations of sharp practices with confiscated assets by the Commission have refused to go away. To this end,  all seized assets need to be forensically audited with a view to recovering all assets re-looted or auctioned in suspicious circumstances.

3. The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, has been convicted for contempt over his failure to comply with an earlier order of the court. As we speak, the Inspector-General of Police has not complied with a court order to commit Bawa to Kuje prison while Bawa has not deemed it fit to purge himself of contempt.

4. In the character of the EFCC Chairman, Bawa led the commission to ignore orders of courts of competent jurisdiction.

5. We are aware that upon his nomination for the position of the Commission’s chairman, in the year 2021, several groups of Nigerians had opposed the appointment of Bawa based on what was described as his not-so-good antecedents.

6. For instance, the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership,CACOL, in a letter dated 18th February 2021, asked the National Assembly to reject the nomination of Mr Bawa as the EFCC, based on several controversies that characterized his tenure in previous positions in the EFCC, given the grave implications of such on the exalted position of the EFCC Chairman.

6A. We are aware of how the EFCC, under Mr. Bawa, is also quickly becoming a cesspool of internal corruption with several reports of corrupt practices going on within the commission as alluded to by Governor Matawalle yesterday.

6B. There are allegations of age falsification to remain in office beyond the statutory limit of civil service regulations, involving very senior officers of the Commission who are said to be cronies of Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa and enjoy his protection.

7. The Bawa-led EFCC claimed that it secured 98.93% convictions in 2022, losing only 1.07%, a claim that is so spurious, considering the fact that a large chunk of the convictions are online fraudsters, leaving out favoured political office holders as if it is not a part of its core duties to investigate politically exposed persons except those its officials are hands-in-gloves with.

8.  We are also aware that in December 2022, the Bawa-led EFCC had announced its plan to sell forfeited properties. It also announced later in January that about 12 bids were made for those properties and later that 6 of those bids were successful. No details of this were made public, either to know successful bids or rejected ones. This was a ploy, in our opinion, to make the processes less transparent and, therefore, facilitate corrupt mismanagement of the proceeds or ensure that only their corrupt allies got the opportunity to purchase the assets at giveaway prices. The processes were rendered opaque and that's very suspicious.

9. The EFCC has done a selective invitation to outgoing Governors in Nigeria, reportedly exempting other government officials who have loads of petitions against them, even by Governors.

If a government agency expected to fight crime is found going about its business in a manner that mimics witch-hunt and selective justice while also being unable to deal with corruption going on within its own workforce, the Coalition of Anti-Corruption Organizations, COACOs, is afraid that the Nation may slide into some real crisis of confidence in our systems which is bound to provoke a defunding of the EFCC by local and international donor organizations.

We agree with the position taken by Governor Matawalle that
"Bawa should explain, for instance, how he has assumed the role of the plaintiff, prosecutor and jury and how he has executed his brand of plea bargaining with suspected criminals and saboteurs of the Nigerian economy and agenda who instead of being put on trial, are walking freely all over Nigeria".

OUR DEMANDS

1. The Presidency to commission an Enquiry into the activities of the EFCC, its present engagements and happenings within the Commission throughout Mr Bawa's stay in office.

2. Order an immediate overhaul of the Commission and, where necessary, lobby the National Assembly to amend the EFCC Act to make the structure less prone to highhandedness and make the Chairmen answerable to the laws of the land.

3. Since there are already direct allegations against him, Bawa must step aside for investigation. This is the standard practice all over the world. His predecessor, Ibrahim Magu, was not only told to step aside when Bawa's godfather wanted him out at all costs, he was humiliated out of office and up till tomorrow, no one knows the exact outcome of the probe against him.



Sgd :

Comrade Debo Adeniran

Comrade Olufemi Lawson

A Powerful Political Organisation " Tinubu/Shettima Amalgamated Support Group" has waged another war of wards with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC by asking the Anti-Graft Agencies to account for the N6trilion allegedly missing under Abdulrasheed Bawa Watch.

The group was responding to the commencement of investigations into alleged corruption cases at the state level by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC.

The group made the call shortly after a meeting of its executives on Thursday, 18th May 2023 during which discussions were made on the series of invitation letters sent to various political office holders across the states of the Federation by the efcc this week.

The Support Group also accused the Executive Chairman of the EFCC Abdulrasheed Bawa of travelling to lesser Hajj with his wife, children, parents and other family members about a month ago and stayed in Jedda and Mecca in Sheraton Hotels which cost about $15,000 per room for 10 days where he paid for 6 rooms.

The group alleged that Abdulrasheed Bawa expended the sum of about $300,000 on accommodation alone for the trip.

The group also demanded Bawa to explain to the public how the trip was funded and how payments were made for the accommodation in Mecca and Jedda.

The Chairman of the Amalgamated Support organisation Malam Bukar Mohammed said the efcc Chairman should stop chasing shadows in the name of investigating economic crimes in states, but to include federal government institutions in the investigations.

He said economic crimes are also being perpetrated by top government functionaries at the federal level and the efcc's search light should also be beamed on the activities of the federal governmen tinstitutions, including the efcc.

Malam Bukar said the group noted with dismay, how Bawa was being remote controlled from the villa in the discharge of his responsibility and the way his officers were being accused of stealing the confiscated assets.

The Chairman said the group wondered why the chairman of the efcc has special interest in investigating states affairs, when there was even more economic damages at the federal level.

He cited examples with the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Attorney General of the Federation, Mamman Daura, Tundi Sabiu and other closed allies of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Mr Bukar Mohammed alledged that Buhari cabals like Mamman Daura, Sabiu Tunde, Ministers of Justice and Education, the Gov of the Central Bank Mr Emefiele, Sarki Abba, former DG of the SSS Lawal Daura and other top federal government functionaries have questions to answer and should not be speared in the efcc's investigations, if at all the investigations are true, fare, credible and acceptable to all Nigerians.

The group Chairman therefore stressed the need for the efcc Chairman to publish letters of invitation to the people mentioned above in this report, including the President himself to clear himself up of the series of allegations of wrong doing or misrule.