Rights activist, Femi Falana has called on the DSS to immediately release the suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Abdulrashedd Bawa.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, said in a statement on Sunday that the reason the DSS cited for detaining the former EFCC helmsman is no longer valid.
Bawa was suspended on June 14 by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and was later detained by the secret police after he honoured their invitation. He has since been held without charge.
According to Falana, the magistrate’s order obtained by the DSS for detaining Bawa ‘has become spent, invalid and illegal.”
He said he’s not “unaware of the claim that Mr Bawa is being detained on the basis of a remand order issued by a magistrate court in the federal capital territory.”
But, “It ought to be pointed out that the remand order has become spent, invalid and illegal as no magistrate has the power under section 493 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 or section 35 of the Constitution of Nigeria to authorise the detention of a criminal suspect for 67 days without trial.
“Indeed, under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, the cumulative lifespan of a remand order is 56 days. Therefore, having exceeded the detention period permitted by the Administration of Criminal Justice Act and the Constitution of Nigeria, the State Security Service should be directed to release Mr Abdulrasheed Bawa from illegal custody without any further delay,” Falana stated.
Meanwhile, the human rights advocate has urged the federal government to ensure that the rights of Bawa, including that of suspended Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele are respected saying the DSS “by law is under a legal obligation not to breach the fundamental rights of citizens except in a manner prescribed by the constitution of Nigeria.”
