…Gov being investigated for money laundering behind Bawa-must-go protests

Soni Daniel, Abuja

As Nigerians elect their new leaders today, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has deployed its operatives to all the 36 states and the FCT to fish out politicians trying to buy votes with cash and other items.

The Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa, made the claim while speaking in a webinar on Saturday organised by a women group known as Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre, WARDC.

Bawa admitted that though some politicians were caught with cash in local and foreign currencies before election day, the agency was not seeing incidents of outright cash for votes on voting day.

The Chairman said however that there had been cases of politicians sharing food items, clothing materials as well as a gift card to potential voters in a bid to escape being charged for vote buying but that the Commission would monitor every case as it developed.

Bawa said: “So far, so good, we are not seeing outright vote buying on election day. The incident actually took place before the election day but we ask Nigerians to avail us with any information that may lead to the arrest of the elements engaged in the illicit act.

“We want all Nigerians to understand the importance of ensuring that no politician uses money to compromise the electoral process as such elements would seek to recoup their money rather than provide good governance once they get into office,”Bawa said.

The EFCC Chairman also spoke on the ongoing attempt by an unnamed governor to instigate some elements to protest against him, pointing out that the said governor and some of his officials are being investigated for money laundering running into billions of Naira.

The Chairman said when it became clear to the governor that the protests were not working, he procured a high court in his state which has no jurisdiction in the matter already being heard by a federal High Court in Abuja, to slam him with a contempt charge and bench warrant which the commission has appealed against.

Speaking at the event, the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, Chief Tony Ojukwu, disclosed that the Commission was working with security agencies to ensure that the rights of all Nigerians to freely vote for candidates of their choice was not denied.

Ojukwu said the commission had set up a convenient line of contact to enable Nigerians to report any form of abuse to it for necessary actions before, during and after the vote.