Contempt: Obey court order, Olanipekun tells EFCC chair

Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdul‑Rasheed Bawa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, has been ordered by a court to be committed to prison for contempt. Senior Advocate Ola Olanipekun called on the Inspector‑General of Police to enforce this order, warning that Bawa’s refusal to obey court directives was sowing anarchy in the country. Olanipekun noted that Bawa had previously been committed to prison by a Federal Capital Territory High Court in November under a similar ruling.

Justice R.O. Ayoola of the Kogi State High Court granted the application for Bawa’s committal on Monday. The judgment stemmed from Bawa’s failure to comply with a November 30, 2022 order directing him to produce Ali Bello, who had sued the EFCC for the illegal arrest and detention of his person. After the court ruled in Bello’s favour, the EFCC arraigned him for alleged money laundering three days later.

Speaking on Arise Television, Olanipekun emphasized that no individual—whether Nigerian or foreign, regardless of rank—should be allowed to disregard the courts, noting that the same legal instrument that placed Bawa in office now demands his accountability. “The higher the position you occupy, the greater the burden of responsibility to set a good example and live within the ambit of the law,” he said. “Nobody, not even the President of Nigeria, can disobey a court order.”

Olanipekun urged the Inspector‑General of Police to execute the court’s order promptly, stating that Bawa must either go to prison or return to court to purge himself of contempt. He explained that the court also ordered an apology to Bello for the unlawful detention, which must be fulfilled. “We must comply with the law. This is the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a country founded on procedure and the rule of law,” he asserted.

According to Olanipekun, the court’s directive required Bawa to produce Bello in court, a requirement he ignored. Formal notices—Form 48 informing Bawa of the consequences of his disobedience, Form 49 demanding he show cause why he should not be committed, and a subsequent motion—were all served on him, yet he failed to respond. Consequently, the court moved to commit him to prison until he purges himself of contempt.