CSOs protest and demand that the EFCC chief be fired

On Saturday, more than 100 anti-corruption civil society organizations and their supporters demonstrated in Lagos to support their demand that Abdulrasheed Bawa, the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, be fired for allegedly continuing to disobey court orders.

On Friday, the groups’ leaders started what they called a “week-long protest against the politicization of the EFCC, disobedience of court orders, and infringement on Nigerians’ human rights.” They claimed that many CSOs were invited to join the cause after the first press conference, which was held in Lagos.

The CSOs marched through Ikeja, Lagos, screaming protest songs and pleading with President Major General Muhammadu Buhari (ret.) to fire Bawa as they went through Ikeja City Mall and the Oregun Junction.

They noted that they were aware of the persistent pressure on and intimidation of the Nigerian media to underplay the dissatisfaction of the anti-corruption CSOs with Bawa, stressing that no amount of intimidation would make them give up their collective struggle against corruption and leaders undermining the struggle.

A spokesperson for the Transparency and Accountability Group, Ayodeji Ologun, who spoke on behalf of the CSOs, said the Coalition of Anti-corruption Organisations could not stay aloof while the country’s legal system was being bastardised by the “selfish interests of a few”, insisting that, if Bawa was bent on playing politics, he should get a membership card from any of the political parties.