TheCable

Babachir Lawal, sacked secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), has been remanded in custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

A federal capital territory (FCT) high court ordered his detention after the commission arraigned him on Tuesday.

The commission had filed a 10-count charge against him on January 30.

Lawal was alleged to have conspired with some staff of Rolavision, his company, to fraudulently acquire a property, thereby committing an offence contrary to section 26(1)(c) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 and punishable under section 12 of the same Act.

When the charges were read to him, he pleaded not guilty while his counsel applied for bail.

The court ruled that he should be remanded while his bail application would be heard on Wednesday.

In October 2017, President Muhammadu Buhari fired Lawal eight months after he was indicted by an ad hoc committee of the senate investigating the humanitarian crisis in the north-east.

Buhari had set up a committee chaired by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo to probe Lawal. Despite calls for his arrest and prosecution, no action was taken against the sacked SGF for more then a year after he was sacked.

In January, Osinbajo said the president had ordered the prosecution of Lawal and Ayo Oke, director-general of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), who was sacked following the discovery of $43 million at an apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos.

Oke left the country shortly before he was to be arraigned but a court in Lagos has issued a warrant for his arrest.