Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has raised alarm over what it said to be a planned protest by some youths in Nigeria to take up arms against its operatives.
EFCC in a news release during the week, said the suspected group of people responsible for the planned armed protest are currently using social media to mobilize and instigate people against the commission.
EFCC Chairman in another news release on Thursday explained why Nigeria Banks are not issuing Credits cards to customers in the country. Adding that the banks only issued Debits cards due to poor rating of Nigeria as a result of cybercrimes.
The EFCC Chairman said about 71 International Companies left Nigeria and closed their businesses because their companies’ bank accounts were hacked by cybercriminals.
The statement reads in quote as presented verbatim thus: “the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, wishes to alert the general public on the plan by a shadowy group to instigate a “protest” against the Commission.
In the last couple of days, the group has been actively campaigning in the social media, recruiting impressionable young Nigerians, including students to take up “arms” against the EFCC.
This insidious campaign is being promoted as resistance to the operational activities of the Commission especially in respect of the enforcement of the laws dealing with cybercrimes.
The Commission, while not averse to protests by citizens, is alarmed by emerging evidence that suggest a grand design by corrupt elements under investigation or prosecution by the Commission to exploit the so-called protest to orchestrate a national uprising that may threaten the peace and security of our dear nation.
As a responsible law enforcement organisation, the Commission will not tolerate any breakdown of law and order anywhere in the country especially around its office locations across Nigeria.
EFCC, working in concert with sister security agencies, is therefore taking necessary measures to deal with possible threats to the peace and security of Nigeria.
The Commission, however, appeals to parents, guardians and heads of tertiary institutions to take responsibility in ensuring that their wards are not recruited to be used as cannon fodder in a proxy war against the Commission by vested corrupt interests.
The war being waged by the Commission against corruption and cybercrime is to protect the future of the youth of this country. That future is imperiled if Nigeria degenerates further in global reckoning as a den of fraudsters”.
In another news release on Thursday, EFCC said: “the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr Ola Olukoyede was on Wednesday, July 3, 2024 conferred with the “Man of Valour” Award by Global Peace Movement International, GPMI, an international organization with presence in 27 countries. Two other Awards, Winner and Torchlight Awards were presented to the EFCC’s boss.
Presenting the Awards to Olukoyede at the EFCC’s corporate headquarters in Abuja, Dr Mike Uyi, President, GPMI, who came to the EFCC’s headquarters with a large delegation of local and international officials of the organization disclosed that the EFCC Chairman was unanimously chosen for the triple honour because of the new dawn his leadership has brought to the country’s anti-corruption fight.
“With the present EFCC Chairman, we are bold to say to the entire world that we have gotten a Chairman that will not fall by the wayside. We have gotten a Chairman who has integrity and fear of God to take on the job without fear or favour. And that is why he is qualified for the Global Peace Movement Awards.
Uyi explained that Olukoyede is one public official giving his all to Nigerians, standing in the gap and inspiring confidence within and outside the country. “I am presenting these Awards to the EFCC Chairman who has done so well for Nigeria. A lion that is not making noise. He has made Nigeria proud and we Nigerians at home and in the diaspora are proud of him”, he said.
In his response, Olukoyede while dedicating the Awards to the Commission, expressed appreciation of the management and staff of the Commission to GPMI.
He pointed out that everyone that identifies with the EFCC in its bid to tackle the menace of economic and financial crimes is a corruption fighter.
“On behalf of the management and staff of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission I would like to thank you very much for the honour that you have done to us. I want to tell you that we would not take the honour for granted. We are going to improve on whatever that has led to this. Everyone who identifies with our mandate is a corruption fighter.
While bewailing the scourge of corruption in the country, Olukoyede promised not to disappoint Nigerians and not to spare the corrupt.
According to him, for every ₦10 the EFCC recovers, more than ₦50 has been stolen and for you to recover that ₦10, you need approximately ₦2.50k.
To this end, he restated the commitment of his administration to the pursuit of preventive frameworks to tackle corruption . “We decided to go by the way of prevention and I set up a directorate of Fraud Risk Assessment and Control (FRAC).
With this Directorate, we are going into MDAs and monitor real time the implementation of budgets. As money is being released, we will be tracking it”, he said.
He acknowledged the political will of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to fight corruption, stressing that the President is not interfering in the works of the EFCC. “If God has not brought someone like President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who gives us free hand to do this job, imagine what would have happened to our system?
There is so much to be done and somebody must do this job. Let us come together to give Nigerians the benefit of good governance
He restated that no shade of economic and financial crime would go unaddressed under his leadership of the EFCC. “We will do the mini; we will do the mega. If you don’t do the mini, the mini will become the mega. Some of these people stealing money in high places started from the local governments, they started as leaders of associations in schools, where they stole money and they did nothing to them and it became part of their lives.”
While touching on the negative impact of internet crimes, Olukoyede disclosed that several international companies had to shut down their Nigerian operations following massive theft of their finances through local wire fraud.
“In 2022, we lost over $500 million in our economy to yahoo boys. The statistics are there.
In the same year, about 71 international companies left Nigeria because they hacked their accounts. We can’t get credit cards in Nigeria because of our poor credit rating because of the activities of these cyber criminals, so the best we can get is debit cards.
Do you know that there are some international merchants that you cannot use Nigerian cards on their platforms? Display your Green Passport outside the country and see if they will not take you aside and search you thoroughly”, he said.
The EFCC boss charged Nigerians to fully embrace the fight against economic and financial crimes in the overall interests of the nation”, EFCC statement ends in quote.
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