Bawa has said the law should be allowed to take its course, adding that the agency had appealed against the court ruling.
The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Abdulrasheed Bawa has reacted to a court order jailing him for contempt.
Bawa was on Tuesday convicted by a High Court sitting in Maitama, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in relation to his agency’s failure to comply with an order of the court.
Justice Chizoba Oji, in a ruling, held that Mr. Bawa should be committed to prison at Kuje Correctional Centre for his disobedience, and continued disobedience of the said order of t court.
The Judge mandated the Inspector General of Police to ensure that the order of the court was executed.
However, Bawa has said the law should be allowed to take its course, adding that the agency had appealed against the court ruling.
Bawa, while fielding questions from journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, said, “Well, we have appealed against it, so we will allow the natural course of law to take its effect.”
The EFCC chairman had appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Anti-Corruption to defend his agency’s budget.
The court judgment had read, “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 willfully 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,” the judge had added.
Justice Orji rejected the arguments put forward by the lawyer for the EFCC, Francis Jirbo, to justify his client’s action.
Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Rufus Adeniyi Ojuawo, a former Director of Operations in the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) had in a suit complained that the EFCC declined to comply with the order of the court directing that his seized property should be released to him.
The judgment was delivered on November 21, 2018.
The EFCC had arraigned Ojuawo on two counts before Justice Muawiyah Baba Idris of the High Court of the FCT in Nyanya in 2016.
He was accused of corruptly receiving gratification to the tune of N40 million and a Range Rover Sport (Supercharged) from one Hima Aboubakar.
But, in a judgment on November 21, 2018, Justice Idris discharged and acquitted Ojuawo on the grounds that the prosecution failed to prove its case.
Idris held that for the charge to succeed, the prosecution must prove that the defendant corruptly accepted the gift; that he accepted or obtained the gift for himself or for any other person.
He held that the burden was on the prosecution to prove all ingredients of the charge preferred against the defendant beyond reasonable doubt as required under Section 131(1) of the Evidence Act, 2011.
“In conclusion, I hold that the prosecution has failed to prove the two counts charge of corrupt gratification under S17 (1)(a) and (c) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
“The defendant is discharged and acquitted on counts one and two of the charge.
“Consequently, the complainant (EFCC) is ordered to refund the defendant his N40,000,000 wrongly paid into ONSA recovery account and to return to the defendant his Range Rover Sport (Supercharged) forthwith,” Justice Idris had said.