Visa racketeering, cybercrimes, and illegal mining are becoming alarming in Kaduna State, the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC has observed.
The observation was disclosed by Bawa Usman Kaltungo, the Acting Zonal Director of the EFCC Kaduna Zonal Directorate, when he paid a courtesy visit to the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Kaduna State Council, to thank them for their support and cooperation.
.Kaltungo expressed commitment to tackling corruption, cybercrimes, and other economic and financial crimes in the state.
The EFCC Director called on journalists in the State to always feel free to balance their stories from the Commission to avoid damaging the image and reputation of the Commission whenever the need raises.
“It is part of our routine that whenever a new Zonal Director is appointed we come on courtesy visit to our strategic partners of which NUJ is one of them. It is a thank you visit and to ask for more support like Oliver Twist. The collaboration that is existing between NUJ and EFCC cannot be separated. So we are here to say thank you for all that you have been doing and to encourage you that if there is any report that will portray the Commission in bad image, you can reach out to us so that you can have a balance report. So this is the essence of our coming to you.
“You are going to look out for a renewed vigour in the fight against corruption, and this issue of cybercrimes that our youths are indulged in, is becoming alarming. So the Commission is devising new strategy to nib it in the bud.m. So we don’t want it to spread because if youths who are the leaders of tomorrow and today they are engaged in corruption, so what does it mean tomorrow, does it mean that corrupt people will be in position of leadership tomorrow. It means that there will be no development and progress. It is now incumbent on us to nib it in the bud.
“Another trend that we discovered in Kaduna that is alarming is the issue of Visa racketeering, more especially during lesser Hajj and during pilgrimage, what we call Baban Sallah. You find out that alot of people have been duped of their hard earned money in the name of Visa by traveling agents, in the name of international passport and stuff like that. So many people have parted with their money without getting value for it. It is alarming in Kaduna State. And to worsening it, even married women are involved in it.
“So we want to use this opportunity to appeal to couples to advise their fellow couple to desist from such act because it is not our wish to go and arrest married woman but when she got herself involved, definitely the law does not say that married men or women have immunity, we will go after them. So we want to call on the people of Kaduna State and Niger State to make sure that people are not involved in anything that will attract us to them.
“We want to call on the people that are into illegal mining to make sure that they obtain proper license so that they will not incur the wrath of the Commission because by the time we arrest you doing illegal mining, certainly we will take you to Court. And we have been doing that. We want to thank NUJ for the support. And also call on NUJ to continue to corporate with us and support to enlighten the public about what we do and let them understand what we do at the Commission” Kaltungo said.
Responding the NUJ chairman, Abdulgafar Alabelewe, assured the EFCC of the Union’s support to educate the society to keep off crimes at all times.
