Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), at the weekend demanded the release of a former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, having spent 67 days in the detention of the Department of State Services without any charges and trial.
According to the Lagos-based human rights lawyer, the remand order of Bawa has since expired.
Falana said Bawa’s detention is against the provisions of 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.
Under the Act, the cumulative lifespan of a remand order is 56 days.
Also Read:
- Okpebholo to probe Obaseki over $10m spent on Observer
- Ayodele to Tinubu: Hardship will truncate your second term
- One Month to Go: Why ‘Owambe Thieves’ is a must-watch, by Seun Oloketuyi
- Harvard alumnus congratulates new CSO to Borno Government House
- Photo: Renaissance acquires SDPC’s assets
He said: “Sometime last month, I had cause to demand the immediate release of Mr Godwin Emefiele, the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, and Mr Abdulrasheed Bawa, the suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, from the custody of the State Security Service.
“In the alternative, I requested the Federal Government to charge the two detained suspects before a court of competent jurisdiction, if there was evidence that they had committed criminal offences.”
Follow The Eagle Online Channel on WhatsApp
