By Romanus Okoye
Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa has said that he will not pay allegiance to individuals, especially powerful government officials and would be ready to resign if anyone tried to make him act illegally.
Bawa who stated this in a television interview said the agency had recovered $150million from former Petroleum Resources Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, who has been staying in Britain since leaving office in 2015.
The anti-graft agency, Bawa said, also secured final forfeiture over 80 property in Nigeria valued at about $80million.
“There are several cases surrounding Diezani’s case. I was part of that investigation, and we have done quite a lot. In one of the cases, we recovered $153 million; we have secured the final forfeiture of over 80 property in Nigeria valued at about $80 million. We have done quite a bit on that.
“The other cases as it relates to the $115 million INEC bribery, is also ongoing across the federation. We are looking forward to the time we will, maybe, have her in the country, and, of course, review things and see what will happen going forward. The case has certainly not been abandoned.”
Bawa also added that bringing the former minister to justice was still far from reality, given the fact that she was out of Nigeria’s jurisdiction and the challenges associated with bringing her home to face justice.