The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, has been committed to prison for allegedly
disobeying court order.
The court also directed the Inspector-General of Police,
Usman Baba, to effect Bawa’s arrest and remand him in Kuje prison for the next
14 days until he purges himself of the contempt.
Justice R.O. Ayoola of the Kogi State High Court, in his
judgement on Monday, granted the application for committal to prison of the
EFCC chairman for disobeying a court ruling delivered on November 30, 2022,
wherein the EFCC chairman was directed to produce the applicant in the case,
Ali Bello.
Ali Bello had dragged Bawa to court for arresting and
detaining him illegally, with the court ruling in his favour, only for the EFCC
to arraign him for alleged money laundering three days after the ruling.
The EFCC’s applications for setting aside and stay of
execution of the ruling were refused for want of merit.
The Court had, in Form 49, Order IX, Rule 13, marked,
“HCL/697M/2022” and titled, “Notice to Show Cause Why Order of Committal Should
not be Made,” asked the EFCC Chairman to appear before it on January 18, 2022
to explain why he should not be jailed for flouting the order given on December
12, 2022 in a case filed by Ali Bello against the EFCC and Bawa, as the 1st and
2nd respondents, respectively.
The court ordered that the EFCC and Bawa be served the
motion of notice together with Form 49 by substituted means.
The court had declared the arrest and detention of the
applicant in the face of a subsisting court order made by a court of competent
jurisdiction and without a warrant of arrest “or being informed of the offence
for which he was arrested” as unlawful, unconstitutional, and in contravention
of the personal liberty and dignity of human person guaranteed under Chapter IV
of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).
The court had also ordered the respondents to tender an
apology to the applicant in a national newspaper and awarded N10 million
compensation for him.
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