An application seeking to commit Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to prison for contempt of court, has been filed and is currently pending before Hon. Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Lagos Judicial Division of the Federal High Court.
The application for contempt, which is a motion on notice, is dated 15th March 2023 and was filed on the same day. It was served on the EFCC and the now suspended Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa through the office of the Head of Legal and Prosecution Department at the head office of the EFCC in Abuja on 31st May 2023.
The origin of this application for contempt stems from a refusal of the EFCC and its now suspended Chairman to honour and comply with the judgment delivered by Hon. Justice Akintayo Aluko on 22nd July 2022 in SUIT NO. FHC/L/CA/163/2022: MRS FADEKEMI BRANCH V ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CRIMES COMMISSION.
In the above-mentioned suit, the Plaintiff, Mrs. Fadekemi Branch, wife of popular Nollywood celebrity, Femi Branch, sued the EFCC through her lawyer, Mr. Solomon Edoh Esq. for, amongst other things, breach of her constitutional right to presumption of innocence guaranteed and protected by Section 36(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), wrongful collection and withholding of her bank draft for the sum of N3, 056, 000 (Three Million and Fifty Six Thousand Naira) without any just cause or excuse and illegal detention.
The judgment and record of proceedings show that the EFCC failed, refused, and neglected to participate in the proceedings despite being served with the court processes and several hearing notices. At the end of the case, the Court delivered its judgment in favor of the Plaintiff and mandated the EFCC to pay the Plaintiff the sum of N3, 056, 000 (Three Million and Fifty Six Thousand Naira) being the value of the bank draft illegally collected from the Plaintiff, interest on the aforesaid sum, damages in the sum of N2, 000, 000 (Two Million Naira) and cost of the action in the sum of N1, 500, 000 (One Million Five Hundred Thousand Naira).
After the judgment was delivered on 22nd July 2022, the counsel to the Plaintiff, Mr. Solomon Edoh Esq. served a certified true copy of the judgment on the EFCC and its now suspended Chairman and demanded compliance through two letters, but his letters were neither responded to nor honoured. This is what occasioned the filing of the application seeking to commit the Chairman of the EFCC to prison for contempt owing to his failing to honour and comply with the aforementioned judgment of the Federal High Court.
The definite hearing of the application has been scheduled for Wednesday, 28th June, 2023. At this stage, with the Sword of Damocles dangling over the Head of the suspended Chairman of the EFCC and the prospect of shame, embarrassment and imprisonment staring him in the face, it remains to be seen if the suspended Bawa and indeed the EFCC will promptly take necessary steps to honour the judgment of the Federal High Court before 28th June, 2023, which is the scheduled date for the hearing of the motion seeking to commit the suspended EFCC Chairman to prison, or simply stand idly by, do nothing and await the decision of the court in respect of the contempt application.
For the umpteenth time, the EFCC has shown, by its actions, that it is not a law-abiding institution. The blatant failure, refusal and neglect by the EFCC to comply with judgment of competent court of law is without doubt a thing of shame because the EFCC, which is a supposed to be a law enforcement agency, is shamelessly and wantonly disrespecting and undermining the judiciary by refusing to honour the judgment of a court. It is hoped that when the application for contempt come up for hearing, the Court will spare nothing in deprecating the conduct of the EFCC and its suspended Chairman and without ado, commit the later to prison if after hearing the application, the court makes a finding that the EFCC has in fact dishonored and disregarded its judgment.
