Bawa: CASER asks AGF Fagbemi to stop DSS’s continued detention of Ex-EFCC Chairman

The Citizens Advocacy for Social and Economic Rights (CASER) has urged the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi SAN, to stop the Department of State Services (DSS) from perpetually keeping the suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in detention.

The group described his continued detention as an abuse of political power by the federal government.

Frank Tietie, Executive Director and Lead Advocate of CASER, in a letter to the AGF, a copy of which was made available to the National Update, said the development as illegal.

Recall that Bawa had turned himself in at the DSS facility in June after he was suspended by President Bola Tinubu.

Before his suspension, he had said the anti-graft agency was tracking the former Governor of Zamfara State Bello Matawalle over allegations of diverting public funds to the tune of N70 billion.

The ex-governor had equally replied to Bawa, accusing him of seeking $2 million bribe for his investigation to be stepped down.

Matawalle is now the Minister of State, Defense, while Bawa is still being detained with no reported formal charge instituted against him in any court of competent jurisdiction as of the time of this report.

It was gathered that a detention order was obtained from a court to keep Bawa,, and he has spent about 2 months with no arraignment or freedom.

Tietie stated that as a responsible civil society organization that has worked closely with the Nigerian government to promote human rights and good governance, Bawa’s detention by the DSS is unjustifiable and can only be described as a persecution.

“Thus, Bawa was suspended by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu without any cogent reason, arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) and has been illegally detained without any charges for more than 65 days and counting, clearly beyond the time and period allowed by the Nigerian Constitution.
“This is unacceptable and clearly smacks of political vindictiveness that is antithetical to the fight against acts of corruption and financial crimes by politically exposed persons (PEPs), many of whom were being investigated by the EFCC under Bawa’s watch but have now been rewarded with more fabulous political appointments.

“At the same time, Bawa is kept in illegal detention without being charged to court. What an ironyi!,”he wrote.

While congratulating Lateef on his inauguration as AGF, he urged him to use his position to stop the continued detention of Bawa.

The letter reads further, “We at CASER have long waited in solid anticipation for the appointment of an Attorney General of the Federation to provide a sense of legal sanity in the Nigerian law enforcement environment, which has had a reputation for disregard for basic human rights standards and utter disrespect for a legal order that guarantees the peace, good governance and steady development of Nigeria.

”Who, therefore, does the continued detention of Bawa serve? Is it to protect politicians who should have been facing prosecution for corruption and abuse of office but have now been elevated to high political office?

“This ongoing violation of Bawa’s fundamental human rights by President Tinubu’s administration is not only pushing the limits in competition with the previous administration of President Buhari, which was characteristically disobedient to court orders and cared less about the constitutional rights of individual citizens of Nigeria, but this administration is beginning on a note of vindictive oppression, repression and violation of the rights of perceived political enemies like Bawa, who was reported to have approved the Naira redesign that threatened the election of President Tinubu.

“Yet, he was only doing his job with the implied permission of then-President Buhari. Why then unjustly punish him out of no fault of his?

“These illegal and oppressive actions by the Federal Government against Abdulrasheed Bawa amount to a clear abuse of political power and misuse of state institutions like the DSS to unjustly detain and politically harass a Nigerian citizen they are meant to protect. And officials of the Federal Government do not know by now that what is being done to Bawa is wrong and that it may soon haunt them one day whether or not they are in public office if not checked and corrected, we trust that you should know because of your position as Attorney General of the Federation and your pedigree as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, that there are usual highly negative and regrettable social, political and economic implications for a country like Nigeria when it is constantly perceived by its own citizens and the rest of the world that it does not guarantee a legal order that respects the rights of its citizens and an environment where local and foreign businesses can thrive with certainty.

“Consequently, we urge you to order the immediate release of Abulrasheed Bawa to end the current DSS’s reckless disregard for his rights. We make this demand in the public interest because we worry significantly that if the rights of highly placed persons like Bawa could be violated with impunity and crass disregard for known constitutional standards, what would then become of the rights of ordinary Nigerians?

“These forms of injustice must never happen under your watch and advice as the Federation’s chief law officer in exercising your powers in the public interest. Therefore, we are quick to remind you as observers of history and to note with the greatest respect and caution that when temporal justice is twisted by its custodians, retributive justice will one day prevail.”