The Committee For The Defense of Human Rights (CDHR) on Friday distanced itself from the call for the sack of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Executive Chairman Abdulrashhed Bawa.
In a press statement made available to NOHR, the organization said it is not part of the group and had no ” deliberation or resolution on this issue and consequently made no inputs on this issue, alongside other CSOs”. CDHR was listed as one of the groups calling for the sack of the EFCC boss.
A group calling itself a coalition of civil society groups comprising “130 frontline anti-corruption Civil Society Organisations (CSOs)” had in the last few weeks repeatedly called for the sack of the EFCC chairman over alleged politicisation of the Commission, disobedience of court orders, and infringement on citizens’ rights, among others.
The press statement reads:
The attention of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights(CDHR)has been drawn to a recent publication with the above caption published in the Guardian newspaper of 15th March, 2023.
The leadership of CDHR disassociates itself from this publication and states categorically that CDHR had no deliberation or resolution on this issue and consequently made no inputs on this issue alongside other CSOs enumerated in the publication under reference.
CDHR, therefore, wants her vast members and the general public to disregard and discountenance that unfortunate and disingenuous name dropping in which our organisation was mentioned as one of the groups behind the present campaign. We now believe that dragging CDHR into this exercise without an earlier consultation or notice signal the desperation of the perpetrators in using the name of our reputable organization to legitimise their “proxy war”. It is the work of mischievous elements trying to tarnished the image of our organization which is not possible. This behaviour alone caste serious doubts on the sincerity and credibility of that unfortunate outing .
CDHR nonetheless remains a formidable organization that is committed always to the rule of law and the principles of accountability and due processes on any agency or institution of government and public officers. Ours is however predicted on accurate facts devoid of political motivations and sentiments
