Coalition Demands DSS Transparency On Alleged Corruption Probe Of Former EFCC Chairman Bawa.
The Coalition of Activists Against Corruption in Nigeria (CAACIN) has urged the Department of State Security Services (DSS) to disclose the findings of their investigation into alleged corrupt practices by Abdulrasheed Bawa, the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In a statement issued on Thursday, CAACIN’s spokesperson, Comrade Ahmed Aliyu, expressed concern over the DSS’s silence regarding the probe, which followed Bawa’s detention and interrogation for over four months in 2023. Aliyu argued that if the allegations against Bawa warrant legal action, the EFCC should promptly arraign him in court, stating that transparency is in the nation’s best interest.
“It is inconceivable to detain someone of Bawa’s stature for five months without cause,” Aliyu said. “We call on the DSS to make their findings public. Nigerians cannot allow these allegations to be swept under the carpet.”
The coalition’s demand comes days after the Citizens Forum for Transparency and Integrity (CFTI) accused Bawa of collaborating with opposition figures to undermine President Bola Tinubu’s administration. In a statement by its President, Alhaji Aminu Mustapha Gidado, the CFTI alleged that Bawa recently met with key opposition leaders in London to orchestrate efforts to discredit four serving ministers in Tinubu’s cabinet using his former EFCC contacts.
CAACIN also raised concerns about the continued presence of Bawa’s appointees and allies within the EFCC, two years after his suspension. The coalition warned that retaining these individuals risks internal sabotage and could undermine the government’s anti-corruption efforts.
“Keeping Bawa’s loyalists in the EFCC is akin to sitting on a time bomb,” the statement read. “Their presence could jeopard to sabotage the commission and tarnish the integrity of President Tinubu’s anti-corruption stance.”
The coalition called for the EFCC to purge itself of Bawa’s associates and urged the DSS to release their investigative report. They further demanded that Bawa be charged in court if evidence supports the allegations.
Bawa was suspended as EFCC Acting Chairman by President Tinubu in June 2023, just two weeks after the president assumed office. The DSS detained him on the same day and held him for 134 days at their Yellow House facility without publicly disclosing the reasons for his arrest or the outcome of their investigation.
The EFCC and DSS have yet to respond to the coalition’s demands. As public pressure mounts, Nigerians await clarity on the allegations surrounding one of the country’s most prominent anti-corruption figures.
