Why Kogi Gov Calls For Imprisonment Of EFCC Boss

The Kogi State Government on Wednesday called for the arrest and imprisonment of the chairman of the Economic Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, claiming he, and the Governor of Central Bank (CBN) Godwin Emefiele are destroying the integrity President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Kogi State Commissioner of Information, Kingsley Fanwo, in an address delivered on behalf of his State government in Ilorin, Kwara State capital, said the duo are fragrantly disobeying the rule of law, thereby becoming political tool in the hands of brutal minds in the pursuit of evil causes.

He said the EFCC boss has been convicted by the competent court of law of the offence of contempt of court and yet he refused to turn himself in as an inmate in the Correctional Service Centre.

“As a Government with utmost respect for the rule of law, we see the EFCC Chairman as a Convict. He has been convicted by a High Court, a court of competent jurisdiction, and that conviction is yet to be set aside or vacated by the Court or a higher Court.

“Regardless of any appeal filed, the conviction and jail term imposed by the Court stands until set aside. This is the position of the law! No matter how his godfathers in the justice administration of the nation cover him, that toga remains and he must be arrested and be made to join others in the correctional centre to be purged of contempt.

“If Bawa continues to walk free after conviction by a competent court of jurisdiction, it spells doom for our justice administration in the country. He said.

On the issue of naira redesining and the swapping of old notes to news ones, Fanwa said his principal, Governor Yahya Bello, challenged the development in court in order to make life bearable for the citizens.

“The reason the Kogi State Government went to court to challenge the Naira Redesign Policy, especially the date the old naira will cease to be legal tender, was borne out of the need to defend the survival and the economic rights of Nigerians. The hardship experienced by Nigerians from all walks of life who could not and still cannot access the new naira notes is horrible.

“Nigerians do not deserve such extreme hardship. As a Government of the people, the Kogi State Government teamed up with the Government of Kaduna and Zamfara States and proceeded to the Supreme Court which in the interim restrained the CBN from enforcing the deadline for the validity of the naira notes as legal tender. The CBN, like its collaborator-in-chief, the EFCC, ignored and disobeyed the ruling therefore undermining the authority of the apex court of the land. He stressed.

He therefore reiterated commitment of his principal to ensure the victory of the All Progressive Candidate (APC), candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the forthcoming general polls in Nigeria.

He said, “Bawa and Emefiele are clearly destroying the integrity of Mr. President. We make bold to say that no amount of intimidation will stop the Governor from supporting and mobilizing support for the candidature of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the next President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.