Gbenro Adesina
The Senate on Wednesday, February 24, 2021 confirmed Abdulrasheed Bawa as the new chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
His confirmation comes shortly after he appeared before the upper chamber for his screening.
Bawa was accompanied into the Senate Chambers by his family members and political associates.
The forty-year-old has worked with the anti-graft agency for 16 years and is a Certified fraud examiner and anti-money laundering expert.
During his screening, Bawa assured the federal lawmakers of his commitment to repositioning the commission by ensuring that the anti-graft agency is in a better place before his tenure expires.
He said he will work with strategic partners around the world to see that Nigeria benefits from the repatriation of assets stolen from her coffers.
According to Bawa, the EFCC will achieve its independent objective by sharing information with its partners.
He promised that at the end of his tenure, the EFCC will be a better place than he met it, noting that his training by the FBI and the National Crime Agency of the United States and the United Kingdom respectively will come in handy.
Responding to questions regarding what he will do differently from his predecessors, Bawa said he will reposition the commission by ensuring that it strengthens its standard operating procedures and improve on them.
He also stated that there will be more transparency and accountability.
While acknowledging that the EFFC has issues with the management of assets, the EFCC boss said he will embark on the digitization of the offices for proper record keeping.
He further noted that the constitution will guide his actions as EFCC Chairman.
He will be taking over from Mohammed Umar, who has been in an acting capacity since July 2020 after the suspension of Ibrahim Magu over allegations of gross misconduct.
President Muhammadu Buhari on February 16, asked the Senate to confirm Abdulrasheed Bawa as substantive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In a letter to the President of the Senate, Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, the President said he was acting in accordance with Paragraph 2(3) of Part1, CAP E1 of EFCC Act 2004.
The statement added that 40-year-old Bawa is “a trained EFCC investigator with vast experience in the investigation and prosecution of Advance Fee Fraud cases, official corruption, bank fraud, money laundering, and other economic crimes.”
He is said to have undergone several specialised training in different parts of the world and was one of the pioneer EFCC Cadet Officers in 2005.
Abdulrasheed Bawa graduated from the Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics (Second Class Upper) in 2001.
Bawa, who joined the EFCC as an Assistant Detective Superintendent (ADS) in 2004, also holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs and Diplomacy which he obtained from the same university in 2012.
According to his CV, Bawa has spent about 16 years working with the EFCC as a detective, and is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Laws degree at the University of London.
He was part of the pioneer EFCC Cadet Officers, course one, 2005.
He rose through the ranks to become a Deputy Chief Detective Superintendent (DCDS), a position he has been holding since 2016 up till the time of his nomination as the anti-graft agency’s substantive chairman.
He has vast investigation experience and has been part of the prosecution of advance fee fraud, official corruption, bank fraud, money laundering, and other economic and financial crimes related offences.
With this confirmation, Bawa will be the youngest ever EFCC chairman and he takes over from Mohammed Umar who has been in an acting capacity since June 2020.
