President Bola Tinubu, in suspending the Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa on Wednesday ordered him to handover to the Director of Operations in the commission, Mohammed Umar Abba.

The suspension, according to a statement, by the office of the SGF, is to allow for a proper investigation into his conduct while in office following some weighty allegations of abuse of office levelled against him by some stakeholders in the anti-corruption fight.

Following his suspension, Bawa was directed to immediately hand over the affairs of his office to the agency’s Director of Operations, Mohammed Umar Abba, who will oversee the affairs of the office of the EFCC Chairman.

Who is Mohammed Umar Abba? Below are key facts about him.

  • Abba was born on June 22, 1965 in Tudunwada Local Government Area of Kano State.
  • He bagged his first degree from Bayero University, Kano.
  • Abba attended the Nigeria Police Academy, Kaduna State, where he was commissioned in 1992.
  • He was acting EFCC chairman following the suspension of Ibrahim Magu on July 6, 2020. Seven months after, Abba handed over to the substantive Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, on February 24, 2021.
  • He is a Commissioner of Police.
  • Abba was seconded to the Commission in January 2016 to head the Counterterrorism and General Investigations, CTGI, Section at the Headquarters in Abuja.
  • He was appointed the Director of Operations of the Commission in 2017, a position he held till 2020 when he took over from Ibrahim Magu as acting Chairman, a position he held till he returned to the Police.