The Senate on Wednesday, February 24 confirmed Abdulrasheed Bawa for appointment as substantive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, February 16, nominated Bawa to head the agency, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina. Abdulrasheed Bawa is the first Chairman of the Commission who is not an officer of the Nigeria Police. He was an EFCC investigator and one of the pioneer cadet officers of the agency, with in-depth experience in prosecution of advance fee fraud cases, bank fraud, money laundering and other economic crimes. Amid several arguments over his lack of qualification for appointment as Chairman of the EFCC, a Nigerian lawyer, Osuagwu Ugochukwu instituted legal proceedings, challenging Bawa’s statutory qualification for the office. Section 2(1)(a)(ii) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Establishment Act, 2004 requires that any person who is to be appointed as Chairman of the Commission must not be below the rank of an Assistant Commissioner of Police or its equivalent. On Friday, February 19, barely three days after his nomination, reports emerged that he was promoted to the rank of Chief Detective Superintendent on Grade Level 14, from the rank of Deputy Detective Superintendent on Grade Level 13, which he held at the time of his nomination. With his prompt promotion, Bawa now holds a rank equivalent to an Assistant Commissioner of Police. According to the EFCC, Bawa and several other staff of the Commission had been due for promotion for about a year. Their promotions are deemed to have taken effect from January 1, 2021.
It will be recalled that Mohammed Umar, a director in the agency has been acting as its Chairman, since the arrest of former acting EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Magu. Magu was arrested in July 2020 and subsequently suspended from office following allegations of corruption and abuse of office against him. A presidential panel led by former Court of Appeal President, Justice Ayo Salami sat over the matter and recommended Magu’s dismissal from the EFCC.