A Kaduna State High Court on Wednesday granted bail to two suspects, Benjamin Bawa and Miracle Awaje, who were arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly failing to declare their assets during an ongoing investigation.
The suspects were arraigned on a two-count charge bordering on false declaration of assets contrary to Section 27(3)(a) of the EFCC Establishment Act, 2004.
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A statement shared with PREMIUM TIMES by the EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, said the court, presided over by A. Bello, granted them bail in the sum of N500,000 each with one surety in like sum.
The court said the sureties must be residents of Kaduna and must present national identity cards, three months’ utility bills and six months’ bank statements.
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The court ordered that the defendants be remanded at the Kaduna Correctional Centre pending the fulfilment of the bail conditions.
Background
Mr Oyewale said Messrs Bawa and Awaje were arrested on 25 April in Minna, Niger State, for allegedly impersonating officials of Q-Net, a multi-level marketing company.
They were accused of defrauding unsuspecting investors into purchasing fake products and diverting the proceeds for personal gain.
Following their arrest, the EFCC reportedly gave them asset declaration forms on 26 May. However, they allegedly failed to fully disclose their assets, omitting information about bank accounts held with Access Bank Plc and Opay Digital Services Limited.
During arraignment on Wednesday, both defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
EFCC Lawyer M.O. Arumemi urged the court to fix a trial date and remand the defendants.
However, the defendant’s lawyer, whose name was not mentioned in the statement, prayed the court to grant bail on liberal terms.
Mr Bello adjourned the matter to 8 October for the commencement of the trial.
Expanding EFCC power beyond public officials
Asset declaration is a mechanism designed to promote transparency and accountability among public officials in Nigeria.
Under the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, civil servants, political office holders, and public appointees must declare their assets before taking office and upon leaving.
This system aims to discourage illicit enrichment, detect conflicts of interest, and foster accountability in governance.
However, the EFCC Establishment Act, 2004, notably Section 27, extends the power to demand asset declarations beyond public officials. The provision empowers the commission to require individuals under investigation to disclose their assets. Failure to do so is an offence under Section 27(3)(a).
This section enables the EFCC to track undisclosed assets, uncover laundering schemes, and strengthen prosecutions, especially against private individuals suspected of economic crimes.
Since 2004, the commission has increasingly used this provision in fraud and cybercrime cases.
In the case of Messrs Bawa and Awaje, the EFCC Act was invoked to hold them accountable for allegedly refusing to declare their assets during the ongoing investigation.
Meanwhile, Bawa and Awaje are not the first suspects the EFCC has arraigned for this act.
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Previous Cases
Searches from the EFCC website reveal that this is not the first time the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned private individuals under Section 27(3) of the EFCC (Establishment) Act, 2004, which mandates full disclosure of assets during investigations.
In 2014, a businessman, Joseph Nweke, was arraigned for under-declaring his assets. He reportedly failed to disclose ownership of a plot of land valued at N10 million, an Infiniti FX35 vehicle, and 500 shares in Royal Prince Joe Merchandise Limited during an investigation into criminal breach of trust and issuing dud cheques.
Also in June 2021, the EFCC arraigned Yushau Ahmed for failing to declare a property at Plot 116 Cadastral Zone B05, Utako District, Abuja. This omission was discovered during an EFCC investigation into allegations of fraud connected to an investment scheme.
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