Over the weekend, Femi Falana, a human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), called for the release of the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa. Bawa had been held in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) for a total of 67 days without any formal charges or trial,Dailytrust report.
Falana pointed out that Bawa’s remand order had already expired, which, he argued, was in violation of the provisions outlined in section 493 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 and section 35 of the Constitution of Nigeria. These provisions prohibit the detention of a criminal suspect for such an extended period without trial. According to the ACJA, a remand order is only valid for a cumulative period of 56 days.
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Falana stated, “Sometime last month, I had reason to demand the immediate release of Mr. Godwin Emefiele, the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, and Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa, the suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, from the custody of the State Security Service. As an alternative, I urged the Federal Government to bring formal charges against the two detained suspects in a court of competent jurisdiction if there was evidence that they had committed criminal offenses.”
