A few hours after President Bola Tinubu suspended the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, Mr. Abdulkarim Chukkol has been appointed as the Acting Chairman of the Commission. Recall that following weighty allegations of abuse of office levelled against him, Bawa was on Wednesday suspended and directed to immediately hand over the affairs of his office to the Director of Operations in the Commission pending the conclusion of his investigation.
However, in a new development on Thursday, the EFCC, in a statement shared on its official Facebook page, stated that Mr. Chukkol is the new Acting Chairman of the Commission. According to the statement, Chukkol is a consummate and vastly experienced investigator with a specialty in cybercrime and money laundering. Until this new role, Chukkol was the Director of Operations of the Commission.
The statement read, "Following Tuesday, June 14, 2023, suspension of Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa, as Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission by the Federal Government, Mr. Abdulkarim Chukkol has stepped in as Acting Chairman of the Commission. Until this new role, he was the Director of Operations of the Commission. A pioneer staff of the Commission and an illustrious member of the EFCC Cadet Course One, Mr. Chukkol is a consummate and vastly experienced investigator with specialty in cybercrime and money laundering.
His Command appointments in the Commission include spells as Head of the Advance Fee Fraud and Cybercrime Sections of the Lagos and Abuja Zonal Commands between 2011-2016, pioneer Commander of the Uyo Zonal Command in 2017, and Commander of Port Harcourt Zonal Command in 2020.
Chukkol has participated in several special operations with international law enforcement organizations and maintains a close relationship with law enforcement agencies such as the FBI, UK National Crime Agency, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), United States Secret Service, Australian Federal Police, Dutch Police, German Police, South African Police, etc.
The acting EFCC Boss has worked closely with other governments to develop law and infrastructure for carrying out law enforcement actions. He is Nigeria's Contact person at the International Mass Marketing Fraud Working Group, representing key government regulatory, law enforcement, prosecution, immigration and customs, financial intelligence, consumer protection agencies as well as trade and competition bureaus dealing with mass marketing-related issues from Spain, Nigeria, Belgium, Europol, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
He has attended several courses, seminars, and workshops on Public Corruption, Advance Fee Fraud, and other economic and financial crimes both locally and internationally, including the Oxford University, United Kingdom, in 2022.
His work and initiatives over the years have earned him several awards and commendations both locally and internationally, including "the Most Outstanding Award in Operations" by the EFCC and the "Outstanding Performance Award" by the United States Department of Justice, among others.
The acting EFCC Chairman holds a bachelor's degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Maiduguri (2000) and a Post Graduate Certificate in Criminal Justice Education from the University of Virginia, United States, as well as a Graduate Diploma in Cybersecurity and Spectrum Management from the United States Telecommunication Training Institute, Washington DC, United States.
He is also an alumnus of the FBI National Academy, Quantico; European Center of Security Studies, Germany, and a Fellow of the War College, Nigeria."
