EFCC Secures 3,455 Convictions, Recovers N248bn, $105m, Others in One Year
*Shifts focus from prosecution to prevention
* Says investigations of former governors, ministers ongoing
Alex Enumah in Abuja
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Thursday disclosed that it secured the conviction of no less than 3,455 prosecuted for various financial crimes and associated offences in the last one year.
The commission revealed this while unveiling the ‘Key Achievements of the EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, in One Year’.
The report presented by the Director, Public Affairs, EFCC, Mr Wilson Uwujiaren, spanned between October 18, 2023 – October 18, 2024.
Uwujiaren noted that the anti-graft agency in the past one year, “under Olukoyede’s watch secured 3,455 convictions across all categories of financial crimes and corruption”, while in the area of monetary asset recovery, a total sum of N248,750,049,365.52, was recovered.
“In the one year of Olukoyede’s leadership, the EFCC recorded $105,423,190.39, £53,133.64, €172,547.10, T1,300.00, CAD $ 3,400.00, ¥74,859:00, AUS $740:00, 170:00 UAE DIRHAM, 73,000:00 Korean won, CFA 7,821,375:00 to R 50:00 (Fifty South Africa Rand).
In the area of arrest and prosecution of politically exposed persons, the anti-graft agency listed former governors of Kogi, Yahaya Bello; Kwara, Abdulfatah Ahmed; Anambra, Willie Obiano and Taraba, Darius Ishaku, as been charged and currently undergoing trial in the Federal High Court.
Besides the four governors, the commission also listed three former ministers currently being prosecuted for corruption and other related offences.
“Two former ministers of power have been arrested and facing prosecution by the commission. They are: Saleh Mamman and Olu Agunloye. A third is former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika,” he said.
Responding to questions as to the number of former governors under investigation and why some former governors accused of corruption and bribery were yet to be prosecuted, Uwujiaren stated that until the commission is done with investigation, it would not be proper to mention names.
“Our understanding of operating procedures makes it inconvenient for me at this forum to share this information because they are matters still under investigation and I am not obliged to disclose that until they are comfortable to make those information public,” he said.
As part of efforts at ameliorating the economic challenges, Uwujiaren disclosed that the EFCC under Olukoyede established a Special Task Force against Naira Abuse and Dollarisation of the Economy.
He said that the task force operates in all the commission’s 14 zonal directorates and the headquarters for the enforcement of laws against currency mutilation and dollarization of the economy.
“The task force has succeeded in changing the behavioural approach of Nigerians in handling the naira. Today, naira abuse in social events has almost become a thing of the past. More than 35 convictions have been secured in this regard.
“The convicts cut across different classes of the society, with Idris Okuneye (a.k.a Bobrisky) and Oluwadarasimi Omoseyin, a Nollywood actress, who bagged six months imprisonment topping the chart of high- profile convicts in this regard.
“Another offender, Pascal Chibuike Okechukwu (a.k.a Cubana Chief Priest), had his charges compounded and was fined,” Uwujiaren added.
He observed that apart from the protection of the national currency from abuse, the Special Task Force sees to the protection of the economy from leakages, foreign exchange distortions and exposure to instability and disruptions, adding that this has further put paid to business entities, schools and individuals in the country demanding payments in dollars.
Meanwhile, Uwujiaren observed that the commission under Olukoyede is prioritizing fraud prevention through engagement with religious and traditional leaders as well as the youth.
According to him, the reintroduction of Inter-faith Manual for Christian and Islamic faiths provides anti-corruption, economic and financial crimes doctrinal guide for clergies in both faiths for inculcation into the faithful.
Other endeavours included the National Cybercrime Summit; Fraud Risk Assessment Prevention for Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs); Cybercrime Centre and Rapid Response Centre; The Rapid Response Centre code named, (Project E247CR2C); and the commissioning of EFCC Radio, amongst others.
