By Akinwale Kasali

Abdulrasheed Bawa, Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has called on Civil Society Organizations, CSOs, to collaborate with the anti graft agencies in the fight against corruption.

Bawa said that it is necessary for the CSOs to collaborate with anti graft agencies as their closeness to the grassroots is positioned to assist the Commission with information that will enhance the fight against corruption in Nigeria.

The anti graft Boss made this call during an engagement between the Commission and CSOs, held at the corporate headquarters of the Commission, Abuja, the country’s Capital.

He said such collaboration was imperative as the fight against corruption was not for the EFCC only.
Bawa disclosed that funds recovered by the Commission are being deployed for the completion of some critical infrastructures in the country, including the Lagos-Ibadan and Abuja-Kano Expressway, as well as the construction of the second Niger Bridge.

According to him, “EFCC was the first organisation to comply with the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act, 2022 that mandates relevant agencies to open Confiscated and Forfeited Properties Account in naira, dollar, pound sterling and the euro.”

“In one swoop, we transferred N110billion, $29million, €6.6million and £1.3 million, and His Excellency, President and Commander- in Chief of the Armed Forces instructed that all the monies be transferred to the Presidential Infrastructural Development Initiative to complete the Lagos-Ibadan, Abuja-Kano Expressway, as well as the second Niger bridge. This morning, I learnt we transferred an additional N32 billion in that account which is also going to be used for that purpose.”

Speaking further, he said that with the Money Laundering( Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 and the placement of the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering, SCUML, in the EFCC, which enhances the Commission’s power to monitor, register and regulate Non-designated Financial Institutions, Businesses and Professions, DNFIBPs, stealing from public treasury will become difficult because all the avenues for leakages will be blocked.

Speaking on the EFCC’s 2022 conviction record, Bawa disclosed that the Commission secured 3,785 convictions and lost only 41 cases, stressing that the figure represents a 98.2% success rate in court.

In his own remark, Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Musa Rafsanjani wondered where Nigeria would have been, without the EFCC and CSOs. He commended the Commission’s involvement in the just-concluded general elections, stressing that without the EFCC’s involvement, commercialization of votes would have been too brazen and unmanageable.

Olarenwaju Suraj, Chairman, HEDA, emphasized the need for CSOs and other stakeholders to ensure that the incoming administration prioritizes the anti-graft war.

Suraj, who spoke to the participants via Zoom, said: “ As this government is winding down, it is incumbent on us and other stakeholders to ensure that the fight against corruption is on the front burner of the incoming government.

“This is not just about policies or political statements, but also about the independence of the anti-corruption agencies.

“In this wise, a term that has been confirmed by the Senate, for whatever it is, must be allowed to run out before the removal of the head of an anti-graft agency.

“This is why I am also happy that the National Assembly is in the process of the amendment of the EFCC Act to ensure that the EFCC Chairman enjoys the same form of protection as the Chairman of either the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB or Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Fraud Related Offences Commission, ICPC.”