President Bola Tinubu has suspended Abdulrasheed Bawa, chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Mr Tinubu issued the suspension via a statement released on Wednesday by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

According to the statement signed for the president by Willie Bassey, OSGF spokesman, the suspension will allow for a proper investigation into his conduct while in office.

“Mr Bawa has been directed to immediately hand over the affairs of his office to the director, operations in the commission, who will oversee the affairs of the office of the chairman of the commission pending the conclusion of the investigation,” the statement said.

Mr Bawa’s removal was among a series of moves the president was expected to take as he continues efforts to purge his administration of people he perceived as loyalists to former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Mr Bawa, 43, joined the EFCC in 2003 as one of the agency’s pioneer enrollees. He rose through the ranks rapidly, becoming the chairman in 2021 after spending at least five years heading different zones, including Lagos and Port Harcourt, as zonal head. 

Mr Bawa quickly asserted himself as a fearless anti-graft officer, moving directly to investigate high-profile cases, including publicly naming ruling party stalwarts like Yahaya Bello and Godswill Akpabio as being under corruption investigation. 

Perhaps the biggest investigation budding under the ousted EFCC chairman was into Mr Tinubu himself, who was under suspicion of fraud and racketeering. 

Investigation into Mr Tinubu, which Peoples Gazette reported in March 2021, summarily went cold as the politician intensified his activities to be president. Its status was unclear as of the time of Mr Bawa’s dismissal on Wednesday.

A spokesman for Mr Tinubu did not immediately return a request seeking comments on what impact Mr Bawa’s investigation might have had on the decision to remove him. Mr Bawa did not immediately return a message seeking comments.

Godwin Emefiele, another public official hostile to Mr Tinubu’s bid for president, was discarded as the governor of the central bank last week, barely days after Mr Tinubu was inaugurated on May 29.