Contempt: Court sets aside EFCC chairman’s conviction

An FCT High Court on Thursday set aside the conviction and remand order against the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, in a contempt  proceeding.

Justice Chizoba Oji set aside the proceeding after hearing an application brought by the EFCC chairman.

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Justice Oji had, on Tuesday, ordered the Inspector-General of Police to arrest and remand Bawa at the Kuje custodial centre for contempt of an order of court made on November 21, 2018 directing the EFCC to return to a former Director of Operations at the Nigerian Air Force, Air Vice Marshal Rufus Adeniyi Ojuawo, his Range Rover and N40m seized by the commission.

However, the application was brought pursuant to Section 6(6) (a) and Section 36(1) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), Section 91 of the Sheriffs and Civil Process Act, Cap S6 Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 2004 and other relevant enactments explaining the EFCC chairman’s role in the case.

The court found that the EFCC chairman was not in contempt of court as he had complied with the order that Ojuawo’s Range Rover be released and by several internal memoranda, he had initiated the commission’s internal mechanism to ensure the payment of N40m.