The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, has revealed the agency’s recovery success between March and June 2021.
He disclosed this at a media briefing convened by the Presidential Communication Team in Abuja on Thursday.
He said that the EFCC had “recovered over N6 billion, over $161 million, over £13,000, €1,730, 200 Canadian dollars, CFA 373,000, ¥8,430.
“We have recovered 30 real estates, one carpet, 13 electronics, one farmland, one factory, two motorcycles, one filling station and about 32 automobiles.”
He added some of the recoveries were returned to victims of criminals based within the country or outside while a number of them go to the Federal Government.
“Let me use this opportunity to clarify issues. There are a number of recoveries that the EFCC has made over the years but not all recoveries made belong to the Federal Government.
“We have made recoveries for victims of criminals and they can be individuals, local government, state government, the federal government, corporate entities whether in Nigeria or outside Nigeria.
“There are also recoveries that are indirect recoveries. Just a couple of weeks back, we recovered $100 million for the Nigeria Ports Authority but the monies were paid into the account of NPA but through our efforts. Am I not going to record that we have recovered such an amount for NPA? Are you going to see it in the EFCC recovered account with the CBN? No.
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“There are recoveries that are made directly into the EFCC account. It is through systems and processes, there is Department of Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Management in EFCC responsible for collating all the data regarding recovered assets, assets on interest forfeiture and assets on final forfeiture as well as their location and of course their management.”
On the case of a spike in the number of internet fraudsters recorded in the country, Bawa said that the agency had arrested 1,502 of the pool.
He said that the swelling number of fraudsters puts Nigeria in a bad light, urging a discussion on the subject among guardians and institutions while the agency liaised with states that it had identified as vulnerable to the ploys of fraudsters.
He said, “The rising increase of internet fraud is a huge problem. From January to the 10th of June 2021, we arrested 1,502 internet fraudsters across the country.
“On Monday that the court resumed, we attempted to file close to about 800 cases of internet fraud. It is a serious problem and we are working tirelessly towards curtailing it.
“We are working with state governments that we have identified to be more vulnerable to this. It is something parents, elders, institutions should be talking to one another. It is tarnishing the image of this country.
“They are doing it on a daily basis, they see it as another way of getting another income which is worrisome to us.
“The chunks of those doing this are young boys between 25 and 34, in their active lives.
“Coincidentally, I am one of them being a young man, people from my constituency are the ones doing this and we will continue to talk to them.
“The commission is focused on these cybercriminals and will continue to carry out enlightenment, carry their fight to their enclave and collaborate with our partners particularly the media.
“We need your assistance here. We are building a tactical centre that will solely deal with this issue of cybercrime.”
