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Ikenna Ngere
Guest
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has recovered more than ₦200 billion and secured around 3,000 convictions in just one year under the leadership of its chairman, Ola Olukoyede.
Naija News reports that President Bola Tinubu appointed Olukoyede to head the anti-corruption agency in October 2023.
Since then, the EFCC has made significant strides in the fight against corruption, according to the commission’s spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren.
Speaking on Channels Television’s breakfast show The Morning Brief on Monday, Uwujaren highlighted the impressive recovery figures and conviction rates achieved within Olukoyede’s first year in office.
“In terms of naira recovery, we have recovered over ₦200bn in one year of Ola Olukoyede’s administration. That is not to talk about the dollar and the euro components of the recoveries.
“The figures are actually humongous. In terms of the conviction returns, we have over 3,000 convictions in one year of his administration. That for us is interesting,” Uwujaren said.
Despite these achievements, Uwujaren emphasized that the EFCC’s primary focus is on preventing crime rather than merely securing convictions.
He noted that a large percentage of the convictions—about 70%—were related to cybercrime, with young people representing the majority of those convicted.
“But we are not emphasising records of convictions per se because our focus, for now, is to prevent corruption.
“Of those conviction figures I have just given, 70 per cent of those convictions pertain to cybercrime cases.
“The style of this leadership of the EFCC is that there is a major emphasis on the prevention of corruption,” he said.
The EFCC has implemented various initiatives, including sensitization campaigns, to raise awareness among young Nigerians about the dangers of fraud, particularly cybercrime.
In addition to cybercrime, Uwujaren identified corruption in the public sector as a major challenge, especially concerning contract and procurement processes.
He stressed the EFCC’s commitment to addressing these issues before they escalate into larger fraud cases.
“You will agree with me that the major source of corruption especially in the public sector largely pertains to contract and procurement processes and the commission is determined to ensure that these practices are checked before they occur.
“The popular maxim is that prevention is better than cure and once you are able to prevent procurement fraud before they happen, we would be able to save a lot of resources for this country,” the agency’s spokesman added.
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