FOLLOWING the suspension of Abulrasheed Bawa from office as chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), over allegations of abuse of office levelled against him, the Director of Operations, Abdulkarim Chukkol, has taken over as acting Chairman of the agency with immediate effect, as directed by the federal government.
President Bola Tinubu, had in a statement from the office of Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), on Wednesday, June 14, announced the suspension of Bawa and directed the EFCC Director of Operations to take over in acting capacity, pending when a substantive chairman would be appointed.
Bawa was subsequently arrested by the Department of State Service (DSS) for questioning.
Chukkol took over from Mohammed Abba as the Director of Operations following Abba’s return to the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) after acting as acting chairman of the commission when Ibrahim Magu was also suspended by then President Muhammadu Buhari.
In a statement by its spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, EFCC released a profile of the acting Chairman, saying: “A pioneer staff of the Commission and an illustrious member of the EFCC Cadet Course One, Chukkol is a consummate and vastly experienced investigator, with speciality 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 2011and 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 organisations and maintains close relationship with law enforcement agencies, such as the United States (US) FBI; United Kingdom National Crime Agency; US Postal Inspection Service (USPIS); United States Secret Service; Australian Federal Police; Dutch Police; German Police; South African Police; etc.
He has worked closely with other governments to develop law and infrastructure for carrying out law enforcement actions and 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 and trade and competition bureaus, dealing with mass marketing-related issues from Spain, Nigeria, Belgium, Europol, Canada, UK and the US.
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 UK’s Oxford University in 2022.
His work and initiatives over the years have earned him several awards and commendations, locally and internationally, including “the Most Outstanding Award in Operations” by the EFCC and “Outstanding Performance Award” by the US Department of Justice, among others.
Chukkol holds a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Maiduguri (2000) and Post-Graduate Certificate in Criminal Justice Education from the University of Virginia, US, as well as Graduate Diploma in Cybersecurity and Spectrum Management from the US Telecommunication Training Institute in Washington DC.
He is also an alumnus of the FBI National Academy, Quantico; European Center of Security Studies, Germany and a Fellow of the Nigerian War College.
