Human rights lawyer Femi Falana has called for the release of Abdulrasheed Bawa, the detained chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Currently, Bawa is being held in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) in Abuja.

Abdulrasheed Bawa has been under DSS custody since June 14, 2023, marking a period of 67 days. He is undergoing investigation for suspected financial misconduct that occurred during his tenure. Nevertheless, in a statement issued on Sunday in Lagos, Femi Falana asserted that the detention order for Bawa has expired, emphasising that the DSS lacks legal justification to further detain him.

The statement partly reads: “In view of the fact that Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa has not been charged with any criminal offence whatsoever, the State Security Service ought to have released him from custody. I am not unaware of the claim that Mr. Bawa is being detained on the basis of a remand order issued by a Magistrate Court in the Federal Capital Territory. 

“It ought to be pointed out that the remand order has become spent, invalid, and illegal as no magistrate has the power under 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.”