The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has developed a new strategy in addressing economic crimes in Nigeria, emphasizing on taking preventive measures against corruption activities.
He expressed the commissions frustrations as suspects are granted bails by courts even as the EFCC has recovered stolen money from suspects.
This was announced by the EFCC chairman Ola Olukoyede, during a live interview with Channels Television, lamenting over the recurring challenge of recovering stolen funds, only to see the culprits easily granted bail in court.
He cited a particular case where he successfully recovered over N200 billion, yet the individual involved was not convicted, a situation, he stressed, highlights the inefficiencies and lack of deterrence in Nigeria’s legal system.
Olukoyede acknowledged that conventional punitive measures have proven ineffective in curbing financial crimes, saying he and his management team shifted their focus to preventive strategies. They decided to address the root causes of corruption by examining the processes within more than 700 Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs). This approach involves a comprehensive review of the MDAs’ procedures and the actual execution of their projects over the last five years.
“If you look at the research we conducted, we discovered that there is no year that 20% of the funds released are being used for the Nigerian people. Money is being made, but it doesn’t reach the populace. And I said, look, we can’t continue like this. We keep chasing stolen funds everywhere, and when it’s time to prosecute, they get bailed out in court. You are telling me that somebody did not steal money when I recovered over N200 billion from him.”
Olukoyede took decisive action and told his management team, “Okay, don’t convict anymore; let me just keep recovering the money.” Recognizing that mere recovery without conviction does little to deter future crimes, he emphasized the importance of prevention.
“We decided to go into the MDAs,” he continued, “We have over 700 of them, and we are going to scrutinize their processes for awarding contracts and procurement activities. We want to see evidence of the projects they have carried out over the past five years.”
