Court Orders IGP to detain EFCC boss in Kuje prison

The Inspector General of Police Usman Alkali, has been ordered to detain the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, in Kuje Prison.

The order was given by Justice Chizoba Orii at the Maitama high court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday for contempt of court.

The EFCC Chairman was declared to be in contempt after he’d failed to comply with an order of the court which included returning a Range Rover and N40 million to a defendant, former Director of Operations at the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Rufus Adeniyi Ojuawo

The EFCC had arraigned Ojuawo on a two-count charge before Justice Muawiyah Baba ldris of the High Court of the FCT in Nyanya in 2016.

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

After a suit filed by Ojuawo’s lawyer, R.N. Ojabo complaining about the lack of compliance by the EFCC the presiding judge in a ruling on Tuesday held that:

“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, Abuia 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. The Inspector General of Police shall ensure that the order of this honourable court is executed forthwith,”