Anti-corruption agency head of Nigeria suspended

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has suspended the head of the economic and financial crimes unit, Abdulrasheed Bawa, indefinitely for abuse of office.

The suspension was due to “weighty allegations of abuse of office”, against Bawa, a statement from the presidency said late on Wednesday.

The move came a week after the president suspended the country’s central bank Governor Godwin Emefiele.

Local media have reported that Bawa is currently being interrogated by Nigeria’s secret police, like Emefiele.

A spokesman for the unit, officially known as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) did not immediately respond to calls for comment.

Created 20 years ago, the EFCC investigates and prosecutes financial crimes, including money laundering and corruption.

Bawa, the fifth head of the anti-graft commission, was appointed in 2021 after the Senate refused to approve the reappointment of his predecessor Ibrahim Magu who was in office for four years.

Previous occupants of the office have also been involved in controversies that eventually led to their removal; Magu was also suspended by then-president Muhammadu Buhari over allegations of corruption.

Al Jazeera