EFCC Secures 2,210 Convictions In 8 Months – Bawa

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said it recorded 2,210 convictions between January and August, 2022.

EFCC chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa stated this in Abuja on Wednesday, while speaking at a training organised for financial crimes reporters.

Bawa who said the eight-month stride is more than the 2,220 convictions recorded in entire 2021, also said one of the greatest achievements of the EFCC this year was the intervention in the forex trading, where it restored sanity naira stability.

The EFCC chairman “I am pleased to inform you that we are poised to improve on that figure as the record of convictions as of August 5, 2022 was 2210.”

However, Mr Bawa said “one achievement which most of you may not easily recognise is the impact which EFCC’s intervention in the Forex market has had on the value of the Naira.  From well over N710 to the Dollar, following the Commission’s intervention, the naira has appreciated significantly against the Dollar in the parallel market, and we are not relenting in our efforts to check harmful speculative activities in the sector.”

The EFCC chairman urged the media to champion the cases of financial crimes, saying that the media’s ability to inform and sensitize the people on the ills of corruption and economic crime is crucial for his anti-graft agency. “So far, the media has been helpful. If nothing else, the commission enjoys a visibility that makes it the reference point for effectiveness in law enforcement in Nigeria.

“As a worthy, dependable and reliable ally, I want to use this opportunity to further urge media practitioners to put the interest of our country at heart, particularly as it relates to a conscientious effort not to celebrate the corrupt in our midst, but to expose them on the pages of your newspapers, screens of television or our various online platforms.

The war against corruption is a worthy fight for the soul of Nigeria, and for the future generation; it should not be left to the EFCC alone.”