Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede has said corruption was the key issue promoting insecurity in the country and called for a collective fight against it.
Olukayode stated this at the 2024 annual civil-military conference, organised by Civil-Military Cooperation, (CIMICO), at the National Defence College, Abuja.
Represented by the director of public affairs directorate, Wilson Uwujaren, the EFCC chairman stated that “Corruption is the key issue in terms of the promotion of insecurity in this nation. When people talk about insecurity and national development, one factor that is important to note is the implication of corruption on national security management and development. It is time for us to collectively fight corruption which has become a major challenge to our nation’s development. The loss of resources to corruption denies our nation the resources we should have used to provide infrastructure and digital services for our people, deepening the poverty we experience in this country.”
Speaking further, the EFCC boss stated that corruption breeds poverty, which in turn makes the jobless to embrace recruitment into banditry, kidnapping, and terrorism.
Olukoyede pledged EFCC’s unwavering support to the armed forces in the fight against insecurity and to ensure that proceeds of crime are not deployed by rogue elements to oxygenate terrorist activities.
He said, “We will continue to monitor the flow of funds, especially in the banking sector, to ensure that illicit money doesn’t get into the hands of bandits, kidnappers, and terrorists.”
In his welcome address, convener and founder CIMICO, Adams Otakwu urged civil society organizations to be driven by patriotism and stay off fraudulent activities.
Otakwu said, “Civil societies must be genuine and not be involved in fraudulent activities. Our role is to call public institutions to accountability, not to indulge in blackmail. That is not activism, and we must desist from that and engage in productive ventures. As civil society organizations, we are the conscious of the society; if we lose it, we lose everything. It is not about money; it is about patriotism.”
