Follow Us on Google
From Okwe Obi, Abuja
The Northern Alliance for Citizens Freedom has demanded the immediate release of the suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa.
Bawa was picked up by the Department of State Services (DSS), over a week ago, after President Bola Tinubu suspended him.
President General of the Alliance Lawal Ibrahim Jamaare, in a statement, termed Bawa’s detention as ‘unconstitutional and a breach of his fundamental rights under the 1999 Constitution’.
Jamaare also argued that the prolonged detention of the embattled chairman, without access to counsel and his family constituted a violation of international human rights norms, which is against arbitrary or unlawful detention.
He called on the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC, to investigate Abdulrasheed Bawa as well as all credible allegations involving unlawful detention, and those identified as responsible should be prosecuted in fair trials.
He said: “The North West Alliance for Citizens Freedom (NWCF) has watched with stoical calm, events unfolding since the arbitrary arrest and unexplained detention of Abdurasheed Bawa, after his suspension as chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
“NWCF notes especially, that Abdulrasheed Bawa has spent 33 days in the custody of the Department of State Services since June 14, hours after his suspension by President Bola Tinubu.
“We note with utter perplexity that since Bawa’s arrest, the DSS has kept silent on the specific offences for which he was arrested, the level of investigation, and whether charges would be filed against him in court.
“We are deeply concerned and agitated that this, and similar unlawful detentions and abuses by the DSS continue with impunity, despite Nigeria’s Constitution and other domestic laws prohibiting and criminalizing such acts.
“The detention of Bawa in particular, with his actual whereabouts still unknown, leaving his family to continue to search for answers, amounts to a violation of Nigeria’s binding obligations in the Geneva Convention’s Human and People’s Rights Charter, as well as regional and international human rights and criminal law instruments that prohibit arbitrary arrest and unlawful detention.”
He continued: “Without any contradiction, the continued detention of Bawa by the DSS for over three weeks now, is unconstitutional and a breach of his fundamental rights under the 1999 Constitution and other relevant laws that guarantee personal liberty and provide that an arrested or detained person should be held in a place authorized by law.
“The Constitution further requires that detainees be brought to court within 48 hours of their arrest, allowed to have their families informed of their detention, and are allowed reasonable access to their families, lawyers, and medical treatment.
“The prolonged detention of Abdurasheed Bawa, without access to counsel and his family constitutes a clear violation of international human rights norms, which prohibit arbitrary or unlawful detention.”
He reminded President Bola Tinubu, “of his human rights obligations and commitments, and to call on him to continue taking steps towards upholding democratic values in Nigeria.”
