Published 12th Dec, 2021

By Gabriel Ogunjobi

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) under Abdulrasheed Bawa has expended more energy on prosecuting more internet fraudsters for money laundering than any politically exposed persons and other Very Important Persons.

After taking up the job as the anti-graft agency’s chairman, 40-year-old Bawa had insisted that he would rather resign than do what was against his conscience or rule of law.

Almost 10 months into Bawa’s administration, an investigation by PUNCH observed that the EFCC is yet to take those facing allegations of stealing billions of naira of public funds to the court.

But, on the other hand, the search for internet fraudsters, which is also within the agency’s jurisdiction, has been obvious across different states like Oyo, Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja.

For instance, in July, the commission arrested 30 suspects during a raid on a hotel in Lekki, Lagos State. About 24 occupants were said to have been arraigned for cyber scam after the raid.

The operatives were reported to have gained entry into the occupants’ rooms by seizing the master cards from the hotel management at gunpoint.

Again, at midnight on August 23, EFCC broke into the house of Dorathy Bachor, a former Big Brother Naija reality TV star, in the same Lekki area, to arrest nine internet fraud suspects.

In the early hours of September 14, the commission also raided three hotels in Abeokuta, Ogun State, and arrested 56 lodgers.

According to PUNCH’s findings, over 50 suspects arrested for cyber scam in various cities have been prosecuted or are currently facing trial.

EFCC, however, has not replicated this success in prosecuting corrupt politicians or recovering public funds.

To the applause of many, in March, Bawa had attempted to deepen the probe against Bola Tinubu, a former Lagos governor and All Progressives Congress stalwart.

The agency wrote a letter to the Code of Conduct Bureau, requesting copies of Tinubu’s asset declaration form. But nothing substantial has been heard about this thereafter.

The arraignment of Stella Oduah, a former Aviation Minister and current senator, over five billion naira fraud, failed to hold at the Federal High Court, Abuja, on November 22, after the intervention from the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, calling for the review of the case.

Within the same week in September, EFCC had invited Rabiu Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano State, and Hafsat Ganduje, the wife of Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje.

Kwankwaso would later be interrogated over alleged non-remittance of N10bn pensions fund on October 16 but Ganduje’s wife ignored the invitation.

She was later arrested on October 5 but didn’t spend the night in detention.

For a few days in late October, EFCC detained Anyim Pius Anyim, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, in connection with the allegations against the former aviation minister, Stella Oduah.

On July 28, the EFCC quizzed and detained a former Nasarawa State governor, Tanko Al-Makura and his wife, Mairo, for misappropriation of billions of naira while in office.

Three days later, it questioned a former president of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, over alleged misappropriation of public funds and money laundering.

Similarly, a former governor of Edo State, Lucky Igbinedion, was on November 12 invited and quizzed for three days for allegedly diverting N1.6bn public funds.

Two times in November, EFCC had also arrested Femi Fani-Kayode, a new member of the ruling APC from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), for questioning over alleged forgery and document falsification. He also never spent the night in EFCC’s custody.

Notably, none of these suspects have been arraigned in court.

When contacted for comments on these findings, Wilson Uwujaren, the EFCC spokesman, didn’t answer FIJ’s calls or respond to the text message.

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