A foremost prosecutor with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Rotimi Jacobs, has joined the call for the release of the suspended EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa.
Bawa was invited by the Department of State Services (DSS) on June 14 and has since remained in the custody of the security agency.
In a statement made available to Channels Television on Monday, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) cited relevant provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 bordering on remand order to show that the continued detention of Bawa could no longer be justified in law.
According to Jacobs, it is obvious that the maximum period in which a suspect can be detained in Nigeria through a remand order is 56 days, but Bawa has been in detention for 68 days, contrary to the rule of law, a situation which must be condemned by all lovers of democracy.
The senior lawyer’s call comes after human rights lawyer Femi Falana on June 30 similarly asked the DSS to speed up the investigation into the cases involving the suspended EFCC chairman and the embattled Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.
Credit: Channels Television