Submit Yourself To Prison Now - Lawyer Tells EFCC Chairman, Bawa
Category: Nigeria News
A Lagos-based lawyer, Festus Ogun, has asked the Chairman of the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, to obey the court
order that committed him to prison.
Ogun said nobody was above the
law, especially public officers who swore oaths of allegiance to defend and
uphold the Constitution.
The EFCC Chairman, Bawa, was convicted by
a Federal High Court in Abuja over contempt of court, and was subsequently
sentenced to the Kuje Correction Centre in the Federal Capital Territory,
Abuja.
READ: EFCC Chairman, Bawa Slumps While Giving Speech in Abuja
The EFCC, through its spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, had since said it
would appeal the ruling.
Reacting in a statement in Lagos on
Tuesday, the lawyer, Ogun, said Bawa “should immediately submit himself to
officers at the Kuje Correctional Centre following his conviction for contempt
and gross disobedience to court orders by my Lord, Hon Justice Chizoba Oji of
the Federal Capital Territory High Court.”
He noted that the EFCC
Chairman “failed, refused and neglected to obey a four-year-old order of the
court directing the commission to return to an applicant, his Range Rover
(super charge) and the sum of N40 million.
READ: Doctors Said I Was Dehydrated - EFCC Boss
Indeed, the court has spoken loud and clear that impunity cannot have a
place in this country.”
“The EFCC Chairman cannot continue to act
as though he is above the law. In a democracy, orders of court are meant to be
immediately obeyed, especially by public office holders who swore oaths to
defend and uphold the Constitution. Our tottering democracy is endangered when
court orders are disrespected,” he said.
The lawyer said the EFCC
should not just appeal the ruling but should first and immediately obey the
court order.
READ: Abuja Court Sends EFCC Chairman To Prison For Contempt
“It is not enough to file a notice of appeal. The court order must first be
immediately complied with because merely filing an appeal does not
automatically guarantee a stay of execution. Alternatively, he should
immediately comply with the court orders and apologize for his misconduct.
“If what we practice is indeed a democracy, then, we must play by
its rules. The only way to enjoy relative sanity is for the rule of law to
reign supreme. Both the low and mighty must bow before the law. There must be
consequences for this gross impunity with the hope that others will learn from
this,” Ogun added.
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