Why EFCC is worth its weight in gold, By Tony Egbulefu

EFCC Nigeria

Since it began operation in 2004, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has been a victim of intentional attacks. Some, from backseat drivers who simply want to determine how the anti-corruption course should be navigated. Some from the corrupt, who are simply fighting back and some others from ultracrepidarians, described as persons who offer opinions beyond their knowledge or pass judgements beyond their expertise.

When criticisms flow the faucets of misconceptions and misinformation, they distort people’s understanding of reality and often create false narratives that can be difficult to correct. The greater tragedy is that they fuel prejudice, stereotypes, and conspiracy theories that lead to multi-dimensional dire consequences that affect individuals, communities, and the society, particularly in decision-making.

The prime target of the sustained dissemination of misconceptions and often outright falsehood against the EFCC is clearly to diminish the work of the Commission and erode public trust in it. Take for instance the issue of cyber crime-which takes root on advance fee fraud, characterised globally as “Nigerian Crime”- the country in 2022 alone lost $500million to this crime category. No responsible organisation, charged with fighting financial crimes would sit idly by and watch the integrity of the country’s institutions compromised and the youths drifting inexorably to becoming a tribe of rogues.

Projections by multiple sources show that the global loss to cybercrimes may hit a handsome $10.5 trillion by 2025, with approximately 2,328 (two thousand, three hundred and twenty-eight) cases occurring daily. A crime such as this portends grave dangers to the entire world. This is a reality that stokes the Commission’s fight against cybercrime.

Granted that cybercrime accounts for a significant percentage of the 3455 convictions recorded by the EFCC in the one year of Ola Olukoyede its Executive Chairman but the insinuations and misconceptions in some quarters that the Commission concentrates its operations more on the fight against internet crimes is not better than a moonshine. Some Nigerians need to learn that cybercrime threatens the nation’s most significant asset which is its reputation, as well as its economic health. The EFCC will not repent on fighting cybercrime so far as it is for entrenching financial integrity in Nigeria’s cyberspace and redirecting the youth onto the path of hard work and ethical behaviours.

Despite the misguided criticisms, aimed at distracting it, the Commission derives ample encouragement on the job from the fact that the majority and the international community are happy with its work and the outcomes they see. The N248.7 billion and $105.4 million among other financial recoveries in foreign currencies within the first one year of Olukoyede leave the worst of cynics in no doubt that the Commission is cruising at a high altitude in asset recovery but they will rather choose to swallow a razor blade than admit it publicly. Stimulating the economy through the anti-corruption fight is what lies at the heart of the Commission with Olukoyede and not the number of Yahoo Yahoo boys that go to jail; not in scaling up convictions numbers. In relation to youths, a recurring decimal in Olukoyede’s policy objectives and institutional actions rather clearly captures a desire to take the minds of Nigerian youths away from cybercrimes, not to make them felons and swell the Commission’s conviction tally as some bystanders monger.

At the moment, the EFCC boss has set in motion, a groundwork for the establishment of Cybercrime Research Centre in the Commission’s New Academy. The Centre is primed to admit an estimated 500 youths at a go, providing them training, research opportunities and requisite skills to navigate and excel in today’s global and digital world, away from hacking people’s bank accounts, bank databases, wire frauds and business email compromise.

It will be for youths’ reorientation and upskilling in an effort by the Commission to see how it can add value to the lives of members of this huge and important demographic in our population. It is remarkable that the Commission took up this initiative even though it is a trifle outside its mandate.

For the uninformed, the Commission is structured in a way that all aspects of its work run on even keel in relation to one another. For instance activities of the Land Fraud Unit or Capital Market cannot suffer because of those of the Advance Fee Fraud Unit. Only ignorance would push speculators to think that enforcement on matters involving politically exposed persons would suffer neglect because a different department has its hand full with activities of Yahoo Yahoo Boys.

Everywhere and every unit and department in the Commission is a beehive. In the past one year, the Commission has concluded investigation and charged four former governors to court for alleged official corruption namely: Yahaya Adoza Bello (Kogi), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara), Willie Obiano (Anambra) and Darius Dickson Ishaku, (Taraba). Yahaya Bello is dragged before two different courts on different charges. Similar actions have been undertaken on three former ministers, two being former ministers of power: Saleh Mamman and Olu Agunloye. And the third, a former minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika. Not forgetting former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele, dragged before three different courts on separate count charges. It is on record that an investigation conducted by the Commission in just one ministry this year yielded a recovery of a staggering N32.7 billion and $445,000.

The Commission is equally running on full throttle with its fraud prevention mandate. In the last one year, it introduced the Fraud Risk Assessment Prevention for Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), which is a template on corruption and fraud prevention in MDAs which have been rendered hugely vulnerable to resource haemorrhage and endless conduits for public funds theft. The template has been in operation since January this year.

Another aspect of fraud prevention mechanism which the Commission was brought into the mix mid this year, is the establishment of a department of Fraud Risk Assessment and Control, (FRAC) tailored towards budget monitoring and implementation in MDAs. The new department is directing its consciousness to the budgets of the three arms of government with real time monitoring and tracking of their budget allocations. With the directorate, there is now a real time monitoring of MDAs’ budget implementations, meaning that as money is being released to them, the Commission tracks their disbursement and expenditure, ensuring that nothing is stolen or diverted.

There has been a renewed attraction of foreign law enforcement agencies to the EFCC under Olukoyede, which has found demonstration on enhanced international collaborations and partnerships. The fourteenth of July witnessed a record-setting official visit of the Director of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, Christopher Wray to the Commission. The FBI Director came to the Commission to personally broker a new strategic alliance between the FBI and EFCC towards tackling the waves of emerging and old crime trends that are of mutual interest to Nigeria and the United States. It was the first of its kind in history. The FBI delegation featured other top executives that included: Charles Smith Jnr, Sydney Schaur, Joshua James Moldt, William Michael Miller, Vanessa M Tibbits, William B Stevens, Leigha Ramson, Sofie Admire Sosenzweig and Dr Jim Oscar.

On 6 September, the EFCC boss hosted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). At the occasion, the EFCC boss handed over to the RCMP the sum of $180,300 and 53 vehicles, being assets recovered for Canadian victims of Nigerian fraudsters. One hundred and sixty-four thousand, three hundred US dollars ($164,000) of the recovered monetary assets was for a victim, identified as Elena Bogomas, while $16,300 (sixteen thousand, three hundred US dollar) belonged to a victim, known as Sandra Butler. The recovered 53 vehicles were stolen over a period of time in Canada, freighted to Nigeria and distributed to multiple locations in Nigeria by Nigerian foreign-based criminal elements in league with their local fronts.

At the handover was Robert Aboumitri, First Secretary, Deputy High Commission of Canada and Nasser Salihou, Liaison Officer and Programme Manager, RCMP. In evaluating the transnational operation that burst the fraud and theft, Salihou averred that the success testified to the EFCC’s diligence and professionalism. “This is a testimony of your professionalism and your commitment to combat crime.” He further declared that the EFCC is what all other anti-graft agencies in the world wished to be. “With your permission Mr Chairman, I wish to say that all other countries will be jealous of you. This also shows that you are our key partner in West Africa in combating crimes. We value this partnership and we will like to take it to the highest level possible,” he said. On his part, Aboumitri said that the Commission was the best partner the RCMP found in Nigeria: “We have found out that in Nigeria one of our best partners is, has been and hoping it will continue to be is the EFCC. We never knocked EFCC’s door without them answering. It has been a great partnership and the culmination of the partnership is the result that we are seeing,” he said.

On 20 September, Olukoyede handed over €5100 (five thousand, one hundred euros) proceeds of crime to the Spanish Ambassador to Nigeria, His Excellency, Juan Ignacio Sell, being the sum recovered from a Nigerian romance fraudster for Heinz Burchard Einhaus Uchtmann, a Spanish victim by the EFCC in collaboration with the Spanish Police. In Sell’s delegation were Spanish Police Attache from the Spanish Embassy in Nigeria. The collaborations, partnerships and free will endorsements hardly testify to ethical shortfall in the Commission. On the local scene, the Commission on 24 April played host to a delegation from the Enugu State government, led by the governor, Dr Peter Mbah. The event was the handing over of 14 properties recovered by the EFCC to the Enugu State government by Olukoyede.

The Commission operates strictly within the ambit of its mandate and nothing testifies better to this than the fact that it has never lost a matter in court on account of acting ultra vires.

While it is difficult to deny that there are bad eggs within the fold, it reflects poorly on anyone to pass a value judgement on the Commission based on isolated rogue behaviours of a few. Integrity of its officers is the wheel on which the Commission runs. It is the most active ingredient in the character sketch of the Commission’s officers.

In the Commission, asset declaration is a routine practice, observed by staff members across board. The devotion to asset declaration has earned the Commission a special recognition by the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB. And this is verifiable. The Commission has an integrity police for good measure. Formerly the Directorate of Internal Affairs (DIA) and now Department of Ethics and Integrity under Olukoyede to reflect the true essence of their job description. This department places every staff member of the Commission on its radar, monitoring everyone and everything from dressing to bank accounts. Where else does it get better on ethical checks?

Tony Egbulefu is of the Public Affairs Directorate of the EFCC.