A civil society organisation (CSO), Campaign for Dignity in Governance (CDG) has called for the extension of the tenure of the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission EFCC chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, saying he had performed creditably well in the position.
The national president of CDG Comrade Rasaq Olokoba made the appeal at a press briefing attended by leaders of group Nelson Ekujumi, co -convener and the president, Centre for Social and Economic Rights(CSER), Comrade Nichson Ufondu and president Southern Coalition Movement and Comrade Alex Omotehinse co – convener Centre for Human and Socio-economic Rights.
Olokoba said Bawa deserves a place in the fight against corruption in Nigeria, because his integrity, intellectual prowess, dedication, proficiency of his legal team in unravelling thorny cases and ability to not only ensure conviction via logical argument but also be mindful of ensuring justice even to the a culpable accused person stand him out as a public service juggernaut, not to be toyed with in the fight against corruption.
He noted that since his emergence as EFCC boss in 2021, there has been an improvement in the fight against corruption and recovery of stolen assets.
“There was a spike in conviction and recovery across all zones of the country. For example, between 2016 and 2019, the number of convictions secured rose from 195 to 1280 and by 2021 the figure had hit an unprecedented 2220, a value amounting to 98.47 per cent of all cases brought before the court of law.
“In the same year, over N150 billion was recovered, with recovery in other currencies such as $386 million, British pounds 1.182 million and 156000 Euro.
“The record for the year 2022 is even more startling for the forces of corruption and encouraging for the anti-corruption forces, as the total number of convictions in the year was 3785, a 70 per cent increase over the 2220 recorded in 2021. In the year, the percentage of convictions was 98.93 per cent.
