NIGERIA’s secret police, the Department of State Services (DSS) late Wednesday detained the suspended chairperson of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Abdulrasheed Bawa, when he submitted himself for interrogation following an invitation from the secret police organisation a few hours after he was suspended indefinitely from office.
“The invitation relates to some investigative activities concerning him,” Peter Afunanya, the Public Relations Officer of DSS, said in a statement.
DSS’ statement, tweeted via the agency’s Twitter handle at 10.48 pm on Wednesday, said Mr Bawa “arrived for interrogation a few hours ago.
Bawa presumably honoured the invitation at the SSS headquarters in Abuja from where Mr Afunaya issued his statement on Wednesday.
Bawa’s invitation came about two weeks after a confrontation between personnel of the DSS and EFCC over their shared building in Lagos, where DSS operatives blocked EFCC staff members from resuming work in the building in the hours-long stand-off on May 30, 2023.
It took the directive of President Tinubu, who was barely a day old as president, for DSS operatives to allow EFCC staff to access the building.
Earlier on Wednesday, the office of the Secretary to the Government of Federation (SGF) had said in a press release signed by Willie Bassey, Director of Information, said the EFCC boss’ suspension resulted from “weighty allegations of abuse of office levelled against him.”
Without giving details of the allegations against Bawa, the release said the suspension was necessary “to allow for proper investigation into his conduct while in office.”
According to the release, Bawa had been directed to “immediately hand over the affairs of his office to the Director, Operations in the Commission, who will oversee the affairs of the office of the Chairman of the Commission pending the conclusion of the investigation,” although the release was silent on the specific allegations that Mr Bawa is being investigated for.
Leadership succession at the EFCC since its inception in 2003 has always been steeped in controversies. In 2021, Bawa took over as chairperson of the commission under similar circumstances after his predecessor, Mr Ibrahim Magu, was suspended from office by then-President Muhammadu Buhari, over allegations of corruption.
DSS’ terse statement on Bawa’s detention, entitled; “DSS Invites Mr Abdulrasheed Bawa, Suspended Efcc Chairman”, reads:
“The Department of State Services (DSS) has invited Mr Abdulrasheed Bawa, the suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Bawa arrived a few hours ago.
“The invitation relates to some investigative activities concerning him.”
