The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has revealed the commission’s plans to investigate more than 3,000 financial crime cases.
He explained that the 3,000 cases approved for investigation were part of the over 5,000 petitions received by the agency from different groups and Nigerians.
Olukoyede said this at the 20th-anniversary lecture of the Human and Environmental Development Agenda Resources Centre, held in Lagos on Saturday.
The EFCC boss, who was the guest lecturer at the event, said the agency has recovered over N60bn and $10m, in less than four months since he assumed office.
While lamenting the pervasive nature of corruption in Nigeria, he noted that the agency has innovated mechanisms to either stop or minimise the stealing of public funds and other financial and economic crimes.
He stressed that it takes collective responsibility from every Nigerian to move the country forward and end corruption.
Olukoyede, however, reiterated his resolve to use the anti-corruption drive to stimulate the Nigerian economy.
He added, “When we set out to investigate. People see it as a fight between EFCC and the rest of us. It should not be so. How much will the EFCC do?
“How much will ICPC do with its staff strength? I have less than 4,800 staff. I am talking of an agency that is serving people who are over 150 million.
“All we have to do is investigate and present the facts before the court. I will not be the one to give judgement. That is where we have collective responsibility. When you see something, you say something
“The issue is we are working as if we are not working. Upon my assumption of office between then and now, I have received over 5,000 petitions. I am not talking of just the one we received, but the one that we have checked and discovered that there was substance in it. That is just for one agency, EFCC.
“As I am talking to you I have approved the investigation of over 3,000 cases in less than four months, but what is our capacity, how many staff do we have? What resources do I have access to?
“In less than four months, we secured convictions of 700 and recovered over 60 billion naira, over 10 million dollars.
“If I am able to recover over 60 billion naira in less than 100 days, you can imagine how much has been stolen.
“I can tell you that for the billion that has been recovered, trillion has been stolen.”
On his part, the Chairman of HEDA, Mr. Olanrewaju Suraju, noted that the anti-corruption fight had been challenging.
Suraju urged every Nigerian to contribute a quota from their respective spheres and domains.
He stressed that HEDA cannot do the fight alone but can influence and facilitate the process for agencies like the EFCC, ICPC, Code of Conduct Bureau, and Tribunal to do their jobs more effectively.
“We need an effective policing system with integrity, then the court must not continue to discharge persons with corruption cases still hanging on their necks,” he maintained.
The EFCC had earlier in the year said that adherence to professionalism and commitment to the rule of law by government officials would ensure Nigerians’ contribution to economic growth.
He stressed that an increase in professionalism means zero tolerance for all forms of arbitrariness.
