I will rather resign than do anything contrary to my conscience – Bawa

Abdulrasheed Bawa, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, has announced that if he is asked to negotiate, he will resign.

This comes as he pledged to rid Nigeria of corruption, stating that the “rule of law and fear of God shall be his guiding principles.”

The EFCC chief reported this on Friday, March 26, 2021, during an interview on the Nigerian Television Authority’s One-on-One show.

His words were published in a statement titled “We’ll rid Nigeria of corruption – Bawa Vows” on the EFCC’s official Twitter account.

“We need to change our attitudes in Nigeria,” Bawa was quoted to have said.

“We are in the habit of worshipping people that have money in the society, but never bother to ask questions about their source of income. In winning the fight against corruption, we are engaging all stakeholders including religious leaders, community leaders and others.

“We are going to embark on massive public enlightenment to sensitise people on the need to shun corruption in all its forms.”

The EFCC boss continued, “I will continue to do what is right.

“The Commission under my watch will continue to abide by the rule of law. If anybody asks me to do anything contrary to my conscience or against the rule of law, I will resign my appointment.”

He noted that fighting corruption is a daunting challenge that should not be left exclusively in the hands of the EFCC, and he urged Nigerians to avoid glorifying corruption and corrupt individuals in society.

The EFCC boss vowed that the Commission would not relent in its determined efforts to bring all corrupt elements in the country to justice, no matter how high or low they were.

“We have just created Directorate of Intelligence.

“We need to re-engage ourselves with all our stakeholders in the fight against corruption because this is something we cannot do alone, all hands must be on deck,” he said.

The anti-graft chief said there is no going back on the directive that all bankers report their assets by June 1, 2021, adding that “laws permit the Commission to investigate assets of public officers like bankers.”

“There is a law called Bank Employee Declaration of Assets, Act 1986. We are not saying they should declare their assets to us. What we are saying is that they should declare it to the statutory bodies. We are going to be calling for it.

“As a Commission, we need to know what you have as a banker. Come June 1, 2021, we are going to be asking for it.” Bawa insisted.”

In response to another query about the ongoing corruption cases in various courts across the country, he claimed that the Commission is making steady progress by securing the conviction of criminals and obtaining that they return to their victims whatever they had illegally obtained.

“Our lawyers are doing well and the judiciary too is marvellous”, he added.

On alleged media trial by the EFCC, Bawa said that “there is nothing like media trial.

“It’s part of our responsibilities to let the public know about our activities and what we are doing to sanitise the country. This is enshrined in Section 6 of the EFCC Establishment Act, 2004.”

He went on to claim that every case brought in court is a public record that anyone can request access to by filing an application with the court.