the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said it has recorded 3,615 convictions this year through December 5, 2022.
EFCC Executive Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawarevealed this while speaking at the Inter-Agency Task Team to Commemorate 20 Years of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) program in Abuja.
According to him, the performance of the EFCC was made possible by institutional reforms, improved staff training and the support received from the Nigerian government.
Increase in conviction cases: Bawa revealed that in recent months there has been an increase in conviction cases. He said:
- “Over the past eighteen months, we have developed a Standard Operating Procedure for all sixteen departments and specialized wings to allow staff to reduce the use of discretion, which has helped us bring out the best in our workforce. I would like to mention here that the last report I got in terms of the number of convictions is now very scary. As of December 5, 2022, there were 3,615 convictions.”
He noted that the EFCC is working more on prevention and will use public commitments to update its mandate, especially with regard to the reform of the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering, SCUML, which is now domiciled at the EFCC. According to him, SCUML has improved the control and supervision of designated non-financial businesses and professions.
Fight against corruption: Speaking during the aforementioned program, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Country Representative Dr. Oliver Stolpe noted that Nigeria has one of the strongest institutions and laws to combat corruption. all over the world.
He said that the country is gradually managing to translate its formidable anti-corruption investments into a reduction in corruption levels, as recent studies show. He said:
- “The reports we are presenting today should give us a clue as to what anti-corruption agencies can do more in their respective roles, while civil society representatives will also share their perspective on what they can expect from these leaders and how to work together to achieve it. . greater results.
- “So our goal here today is to identify what we can do differently to get more benefits from Nigeria’s anti-corruption investments.”