EFCC recovers $9.750m, £750,000, N1.25bn

… corruption is fighting back – Magu

Acting chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, on Thursday, confirmed the recovery of $9.750 million and £750,000 from a residence in Kaduna State and N1.25 billion was recovered from a public servant a fortnight ago.

According to the document submitted by the Commission to the House Committee on Financial Crimes, chaired by Kayode Oladele, during the 2016 budget appraisal and 2017 budget defence, the Commission recovered N102,913,791,217.54; $8,296,313.99; GBP 29,155; £12,475; 117,004 Canadian dollar; 806.50 dirham; 5,000 francs and 2,000 rupee as proceeds of crime between January and December 2016.
Out of the 37 accounts frozen/forfeited, six banks are yet to provide relevant information on the amount accrued into the suspected accounts within the period under review.
The records further showed that the Commission secured 135 convictions, out of which 46 were from Lagos zone, 30 from Abuja zone, 22 from Port Harcourt zone, 19 from Kano zone, 15 from Enugu zone, and three from Gombe zone, respectively.
Magu, who acknowledged the support of the committee towards fast-tracking completing of the EFCC headquarters, noted that the Commission had resuscitated its offices in Kaduna, Ibadan, Edo and Maiduguri as part of efforts to boost its operations across the country.
Magu, who has been facing herculean task of being confirmed by the Senate over security report, said, “Corruption is fighting back,” hence solicited for the support of the House.
On recruitment, he explained that the Commission could only recruit 331 cadets on equal quota basis across the country, except Lagos, Ekiti, Bayelsa and Rivers with lower number, noting that the Commission had not release the result of the graduates recruited.
He noted that the Federal Ministry of Finance had scheduled the payment of N1.8 billion out of N2.9 billion for completion of the Commission’s headquarter in Abuja, before the capital component of the 2016 Appropriation Act elapsed in March 2017.
Giving breakdown of the 2016 appropriated allocation, he disclosed that in the total approved budget of N18,887,531,631, only N14,739,273,473.86 representing 78.04 percent, was fully released.
He explained that the sum of N7.621 billion was for personnel cost, overhead was N2.750 billion (N10.402bn as total recurrent), while capital was N8.485 billion for year 2016, adding that 91.1 percent component of the fund released had so far been implemented.
Speaking earlier, Oladele, the committee chairman, said Nigeria had applied to join the league of members of Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international anti-corruption agency, as part of efforts to strengthen ongoing anti-corruption crusade in the country.
Oladele, who applauded the development, expressed optimism that Nigeria would be admitted as Observer member by the end of the years and become full time member of FATF in the nearest future.
“Our collective efforts to unleash sustainable development in Nigeria through the rooting out of corruption will not produce the desired result if Nigeria is unable to transact in the international market place without let or hindrance.
“In this regard, Nigeria has applied to join the FATF and based on the level of our commitment, a high-level delegation from the FATF is due to visit Nigeria in March 2017 to meet with various stakeholders and report back to its plenary in June this year. I have no doubt in my mind that we will be successfully accredited and admitted at the end of the exercise,” Oladele said.
Oladele, who applauded the successes recorded so far by the Commission in the discharge of its constitutional functions, said: “For the first time in Nigeria’s history, anti-corruption searchlights have been beamed on the judiciary and the revelations have been mind-blogging.
“In addition, similar exercise in the arms procurement process by the Nigeria military has also led to several arrests. Overall, the EFCC made the highest numbers of recoveries of stolen resources (running into billions of Naira) in a single year in the annals of Nigeria’s anti-corruption efforts.”
He also pledged the support of the House, and assured on the introduction of life insurance for EFCC operatives.