President Bola Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu [Credit; FMNIO]

President Bola Tinubu has approved the transfer of Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN) from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to the Federal Civil Service as director of public prosecutions (DPP).

This is contained in a statement by the director of information and public relations, State House, Abiodun Oladunjoye, on Tuesday in Abuja.

Mr Oyedepo’s appointment followed the approval of the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) in the public interest.

A letter dated December 23 and signed by Omolabake Mafe on behalf of the FCSC chairman conveyed the approval.

Mr Oyedepo will fill the vacancy following the retirement of the current DPP, Abubakar Babadoko, who will complete the mandatory eight-year tenure as a director on December 31.

Mr Oyedepo is a 2007 law graduate of the University of Ilorin and was called to the bar in 2008 after attending the Nigerian Law School.

He is expected to deploy his expertise to reduce reliance on external counsel and ensure greater coherence and consistency in the federal government’s prosecution strategy.

Before his appointment, Mr Oyedepo served at the EFCC for over 15 years, specialising in the prosecution of complex economic and financial crimes.

He also served as head of the commission’s monitoring unit.

Mr Oyedepo was part of the federal government’s legal team in the landmark Process and Industrial Development (P&ID) arbitration case against Nigeria.

He was named EFCC Outstanding Staff of the Year in 2014 and Best Financial Crimes Prosecutor in 2019.