By Eric Elezuo

The last has not been heard of the imbroglio between the governor of Zamfara State and the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, over an alleged bribe to the tune of $2 million.

Matawalle has accused the EFCC boss of demanding a $2 million bribe from him following a case of corruption leveled against the governor, an allegation the graft has denied.

Recall that the embattled governor, who has lost his bid to return to office for second term, is being investigated by the anti-corruption agency for allegedly pocketing N70 billion from the Zamfara State government coffers. An amount said to have been borrowed supposedly for projects in the state

The EFCC said the governor allegedly siphoned Zamfara’s funds sourced as a loan from an old-generation bank purportedly for the execution of projects in local governments in the state. The EFCC said the governor used proxies who posed as contractors for the projects and got paid, but did not execute the projects.

The matter took a twist when the governor revealed that the boss of the anti-corruption agency, was demanding a whopping amount of $2 million to let him off the hook

Matawalle, in an interview with BBC Hausa on Friday accused Bawa, of asking for the bribe, adding that the EFCC boss, who according to him, is not an honest person, was only busy targeting governors while turning a blind eye to federal officers with budgetary allocations.

“It is not just to always blame governors. It is not only governors who have treasury, the federal government also has. What does the EFCC boss do to them? As he is claiming he has evidence on governors, let him show the world evidence of those at the federal level.

“If he exits office, people will surely know he is not an honest person. I have evidence against him. Let him vacate the office, I am telling you within 10 seconds probably more than 200 people will bring evidence of bribes he collected from them. He knows what he requested from me but I declined.

“He requested a bribe of two million dollars from me and I have evidence of this. He knows the house we met, he invited me and told me the conditions. He told me governors were going to his office but I did not. If I don’t have evidence, I won’t say this,” Matawallehad told the BBC.

However, in a swift response, the EFCC denied the allegation through a statement signed by the Commission’s spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, and dared the governor to provide evidence to back his claim. Mr Uwujaren said the commission will not be drawn into a mud fight with a suspect under investigation for corruption and unconscionable pillage of the resources of his state.

The statement reads: “The attention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has been drawn to a trending interview granted to the Hausa Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC, by Bello Muhammed Matawalle, governor of Zamfara State, where he allegedly made wild bribery allegations against the Executive Chairman of the Commission, Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa.

“Matawalle’s recourse to mudslinging is symptomatic of a drowning man clutching at straws. But despite the irritation of his phantom claims, the Commission will not be drawn into a mud fight with a suspect under its investigation for corruption and unconscionable pillage of the resources of his state.

“If Matawalle will be taken seriously, he should go beyond sabre-rattling by spilling the beans – provide concrete evidence as proof of his allegations,” Mr Uwujaren’s statement revealed.

Matawalle, a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), had in March accused the Federal Government of using the military to rig the Zamfara governorship election for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He further said that the government at the centre was not happy with him for going to court over the newly resigned naira notes, and so decided to punish him for his position.

The Zamfara governor, Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, the Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje and Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, had dragged the Federal Government to the Supreme Court over the scarcity of cash occasioned by the CBN’s cashless policy.

“What’s being said is that we went to court over the new naira notes redesign. They said myself, Ganduje and El-Rufai would be punished accordingly,” the embattled had alleged.

He added, “Three days to the gubernatorial election, they sent over 300 vehicles conveying soldiers into Zamfara.

“Such a high number of soldiers! If they could send them to us to fight insecurity, it would be better. But they only sent them during elections.”

In November, 2022, Bawa was convicted by Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja, presided over by Justice Chizoba Oji, and ordered to be committed to Kuje correctional facility.

He was convicted for contempt of court in relation to EFCC’s failure to comply with an earlier order of the court.

Justice Oji, in a ruling, held that “the Chairman Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is in contempt of the orders of this honourable court made on November 21st 2018 directing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abuja to return to the applicant his Range Rover (Super charge) and the sum of N40, 000,000.00 (Forty Million Naira).

Again, in February 2013, Bawa was jailed by the Kogi State High Court in Lokoja has for disobeying its order.

The court also directed the Inspector General of Police to arrest Bawa and remand him in Kuje prison, Abuja, for the next 14 days.

The judge, Rukayat Ayoola, ordered that Mr Bawa be detained in prison “until he purges himself of the contempt”, meaning until he clears himself of the contempt for which he was jailed.

Ms Ayoola issued the committal order based on an application filed by one Ali Bello accusing Bawa of disobeying a court ruling by going ahead to arraign him on 15 December 2022 against an earlier court order made on 12 December 2022.

While the accusation and denial between Matawalle and Bawa lasts, one is obvious, and that is one of the parties is either lying or speaking the truth. Who? Matawalle or Bawa?