ABUJA – Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has recovered N409bn, $69m in 2017 alone, the chairman of the Anti-Graft Agency, Ibrahim Magu has said.
He disclosed this on Wednesday during an interaction with senior journalists in Abuja as part of the agency’s regular interface with stakeholders.
“We owe the media a debt of gratitude for whatever success we have recorded in the last two years. More importantly, we are convinced that the media remains strategic for future success of the EFCC and the fight against corruption in our country,” he acknowledged.
Magu said it would be naïve for anyone to expect the fight against corruption to be smooth, saying you should expect resistance and opposition which are expressed in various guises.
According to him, “From what we read in the papers these days, it is either somebody is fighting Magu or Magu is fighting other people. I know that journalists want to sell their newspapers, but seriously speaking, instead of fighting ourselves, we should be united in fighting the common enemy, which is corruption.
“Personally, I am not after anybody and have no issues with anybody. Those who think they have issues with me will soon discover that I mean no harm. What drives me is the passion to do what is right by ensuring that we fight corruption to a standstill in this country.”
On how much has been recovered, he had this to say: “Two days ago, we got the court to forfeit to the Nigerian Government a sum of N7.6billion which was hidden in a Nigerian bank by former petroleum resources minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke.
“Two weeks earlier, another court issued a temporary forfeiture order to seize properties worth Twenty One Million, Three Hundred and Ninety Two Thousand, Two Hundred and Twenty Four Thousand Dollars ($21,392,224) belonging to the same former minister. Those properties are awaiting final forfeiture.
“Over a month ago, the Commission recovered over N329billion from a group of oil marketers for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. These are major recoveries from a sector of the economy. But to give a holistic picture of the aggressive drive to recover stolen wealth, I have the pleasure to report that the Commission between January and August 30, 2017 recorded the following monetary recoveries:
“Four Hundred and Nine Billion, Two Hundred and Seventy Million, Seven Hundred and Six Thousand, Six Hundred and Eighty Six Naira, Seventy Five Kobo(N409, 270, 706,686.75);
“Sixty Nine Million, Five Hundred and One Thousand, One Hundred and Fifty Six Dollars, Sixty Seven Cents ($69, 501,156.67);
“Two Hundred and Thirty One Thousand, One Hundred and Eighteen Pounds, Sixty Nine Shillings (Pounds 231,118.69;
” Six Hundred and Ten Thousand, Eight Hundred and Sixteen Thousand, Twenty Euros (Euro 610,816.20);
“Four Hundred and Forty Three Thousand, Four Hundred Dirham (Dirham 443,400.00 and (Seventy Thousand, Five Hundred Saudi Riyal (SR70, 500.00)
“In the area of prosecution of cases in court, we are also making progress despite the antics of some persons accused of grand corruption to delay trial. Between January and August this year, EFCC recorded 137 convictions. The potentials for improvement are good as more cases are brought to conclusion in the remaining four months of the year.”
