Rotimi Jacobs SAN Calls Out SSS For Disregard Of Rule Of Law In Prolonged Detention Of Bawa

Long-standing Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) prosecutor, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs SAN has asked the Department of State Service (DSS) to release the suspended Chairman of the commission, Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa.

In a two-page Press Release obtained by press, Jacobs stated that “a close examination of the provisions of the (Administration of Criminal Justice) Act bordering on remand order would show that the continued detention of Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa can no longer be justified in law.”

The fiery prosecutor noted that while a remand order can last for a total of 28 days, the Magistrate upon expiry of this period “is required to invite the Attorney General of the Federation, the detaining authority (the DSS), and the suspect to address the court as to why the remand order should not be vacated and the suspect released unconditionally.”

He noted that the Act provides that a suspect could be in custody for a maximum of 56 days, adding that “Thereafter, the suspect ought to and must be released unconditionally except where a charge is preferred against him before a competent court of law.”

The senior lawyer warned that “The concern now is not necessarily about the person of Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa but the need to respect and observe the rule of law in a constituional democracy which we practise in Nigeria.”

Titled “The illegality of the continued detention of Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa” and personally signed by him, Jacobs said he was compelled “to draw the attention of the relevant authorities to the obvious constitutional infraction and the illegality which the continued detention of Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa represents.”

He called on the relevant authorities “to be properly guided and tow the part (sic) of justice in the instant case and other similar cases.”