The Coalition of Activists Against Corruption in Nigeria (CAACIN) has called on the Directorate of State Services (DSS) to open up on their findings over alleged corrupt practices levelled against the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa.

Spokesperson of the Coalition, Ahmed Aliyu, in a statement, yesterday, wondered why the DSS kept a sealed lip on the report of their investigation in the over four months’ detention and interrogation of the erstwhile EFCC boss in their custody in 2023.

The coalition, while stressing the need for EFCC to arraign Bawa in court if there is a need for the action, said that the position is in the best interest of the nation.

It noted: “It is not possible to detain a man of his calibre for five months for nothing. We invite the DSS to open the report of their findings. There were multiple corruption allegations against Bawa, which the EFCC and the DSS were also aware of. Nigerians can’t afford to let these be swept under the carpet.”

The charge is coming barely three days after a group, Citizens Forum for Transparency and Integrity (CFTI), in a statement by its President, Aminu Mustapha Gidado, in Lagos, accused Bawa of working secretly with the opposition figures to discredit President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

In what it described as “coordinated and sinister”, the CFTI alleged that Bawa recently met with key opposition figures in London where discussions were held on using his former contacts within the EFCC to target four serving ministers in Tinubu’s cabinet.

The coalition, therefore, frowned on the rationale behind keeping those appointees and close allies of the former chairman in the commission two years after he (Bawa) was sacked.

It said that the former EFCC Chairman could use them to sabotage the commission and the government.

“Keeping those Bawa appointed or employed in his two years’ stay in the commission is just to say that the EFCC is sitting on a time-bomb, as it would only take time for his loyalists to begin sabotage in the fight against corruption and rubbish the integrity of Tinubu’s anti-corruption stance.

“It is on this note that we demand that the DSS should make the public report of their investigation available. The EFCC should, as a matter of urgent necessity, charge Abdulrasheed Bawa to court. The commission should also purge itself by showing those Bawa brought in the way out,” the activists said.