Crime

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission vows to recover all public funds stolen under the guise of arms procurement

THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has vowed to recover all public funds siphoned under the guise of arms procurement by prominent Nigerians now in its custody.

Ibrahim Magu, commission’s acting chairman, at events to mark this year’s International Anti-corruption day in Abuja, said his men are working hard to recover the stolen funds even has he disclosed that substantial amount of money have been recovered from fraudsters.

“I can assure you that the commission is on top of that investigation. We will spare no effort to ensure that we recover every kobo of public funds that have been stolen in the guise of arms procurement and the culprits brought to justice,” he told a packed audience, including secondary school children, at the seminar organised by the Inter-Agency Task Team, a common platform for anti-corruption and accountability in Nigeria.

Magu disclosed that the commission has secured 78 convictions from 280 cases filed in court this year while 1881 cases were investigated. Besides, he said several interim and final forfeiture orders were given by the courts even as funds are being recovered.

The new EFCC boss, as many other speakers, praised the President Muhammadu Buhari’s government for creating an enabling environment to fight corruption and promised that the commission will fight corruption in a firm, fair, accountable and transparent manner.

Magu said he had embarked on internal cleansing of the commission to improve efficiency and re-position it to deliver on its mandate. He listed the implementation of its strategic plan and other institutional reforms as measures to increase the capacity to fight corruption.

He also sought the co-operation of all civil society organisations and other critical stakeholders in the battle against corruption as a concerted effort to surmount all hindrances.

Earlier, Abubakar Malami, attorney-general and minister of justice, expressed regret that corruption had stunted the capacity of the country to attain economic development even as he restated the resolve of Buhari to purge the nation of this cankerworm.

Specifically, he identified a linkage between good governance and economic development and bemoaned the poverty level in the country despite its potentials. “There is a wide gap between revenue generation, appropriation, utilisation, public officials’ transparency, probity and the effect on the nation’s development”, he stated.

The minister, represented by Barrister Sylvester Imanhobe, said the country’s profile is worrisome, listing high cost of doing business owing to poor power supply, official corruption and high crime rate; high maternal mortality and large number of children out of school; high illicit capital flight and 800,000 deaths on the highways every year.

“The problem of corruption in Nigeria is not in the inadequacy of penal laws, sanctions or lack of institutional framework. Rather, attention must be directed at strengthening the capacity of the enforcement agencies to detect and prosecute offenders,” he said.

Nevertheless, he promised to expedite action on three laws designed to reinforce the fight against corruption. These are National Financial Intelligence Center Bill, Proceeds of Crime Bill and Whistle Blowers Protection Bill.

Lilian Ekeanyanwu, head of the Technical Unit on Governance and Anti-corruption Reforms, organisers of the forum, said the anti-corruption day had been marked in the country since 2009 as a strategic approach to measure the fight against corruption and make it all-inclusive. She urged government to adopt a national strategy to tame the menace.

Goodwill messages were presented by the United Nations, European Union and other anti-corruption and transparency agencies in the country.

— Dec 21, 2015 @ 01:00 GMT

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