The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Enugu Zonal Office, which oversees the activities of the EFCC in the South-East has from January 2019 till date, secured 28 convictions, recovered N102,322,630 (One Hundred and Two Million Three Hundred and Twenty-Two Thousand Six Hundred and Thirty Naira), and $6,450 (Six Thousand Four Hundred and Fifty United States Dollar), and also confiscated 30 exotic cars.
The statistics were reeled out by the Zonal Head, Usman Iman, during a media briefing on Friday, May 17, 2019, which held at the EFCC Office, located at the Independence Layout, Enugu.
He said: “It is noteworthy that within the first quarter, and indeed, since January, the zone has secured a total of 28 convictions, a 100 per cent increase from the total of 14 convictions recorded during the period last year.”
Iman further disclosed that the zone received 557 petitions, but that 127 were approved and currently under various stages of investigation by the Commission, while 230 were rejected on the grounds of being civil in nature.
He also stated that the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering, SCUML, were able to register 204 business entities in the zone during the same period.
Speaking on the cases of public interest, Imam who revealed that the zone was investigating a case against Imo State government on allegation of money laundering during the last gubernatorial elections, noted that the Commission was able to intercept hundreds of millions of naira of public funds meant to be used for vote-buying in the zone.
He used the medium to warn Nigerians against fraudsters who in the guise of operating various cooperatives scheme, only use same to defraud unsuspecting investors.
He said: “There are several cases of ponzi schemes shrouded as cooperative or empowerment schemes with funny names such as Perfect Ladies, Unstoppable Ladies, Christian Ladies, Raising Lives, Ever Better Association among others, aimed at milking millions of Naira from unsuspecting victims.
“The scammers who are mostly in Aba, Abia State, promise people up to 60 per cent return on investment and usually pay cash, electrical appliances or foodstuff to those who patronise them.”
He also cautioned Nigerians on the danger of disclosing their personal information to anyone who calls or requests for such via text message, which he noted has been the major reason for ATM or bank-related frauds.
He equally raised concern about the rising cases of cyber crimes popularly called “yahoo-yahoo” in the zone, charging parents to take their God-given responsibilities seriously, which is to train and monitor their children.
He said: “It is unfortunate that some parents are not only aware of their children’s involvements, but even abet such terrible crimes.
“What is more worrisome is that most of the perpetrators are students of tertiary institutions, graduates, corps members and even some secondary school who are already learning the ropes from their elders in this nefarious business.”
While assuring of the Commission’s determination to rid the nation of every form of corruption, Imam stressed that it was imperative for all Nigerians to support the EFCC fight against corruption, in order to achieve a better Nigeria.
