Kemisola Oye
THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) recorded its best-ever performance in 2024 since its creation in 2003, with the highest number of convictions and the single largest asset recovery ever coupled with significant money forfeitures.
Our correspondent reports that an appraisal of the Commission’s operations in the last 12 months shows that beginning from January 2024, the anti-graft recorded unprecedented volumes of and breakthroughs in cases involving Advance Fee Fraud, Money Laundering, and Cybercrime, among others, across all its Zonal Directorates in the country.
The EFCC monetary recoveries for the year include ₦364,597,370,151.35 (billion), US$214,513,439.55 (million), UK£54,318.64, 31,265, Euros, CAD$2,990 and AUD 740.00.
Others are CFA7,821,375, UAE DIRHAM 170, RIYALS 5,115, W73,000, 105 Yen, GH¢225 and RAND 50.
Recovered assets in 2024 include the forfeiture to the Federal Government of over 750 duplexes and other apartments in late 2024, which is the single largest recovery by the Commission since its inception.
A summary of the assets includes 173 vehicles, cash sums of N9,477,977,318.78 (billion), $2,605,858.30 (million) and UKP1,600. Others include cryptocurrencies of 13.37BTC worth about $572,992.86. 5.97886094 ETHEREUM worth $13,353.06. 298.4770071 GREEN SATOSHI token worth $6, 1,002.547631. USDT ($1,0022.22), the sum of N2,699,233. USDT in the form of TETHER COIN (USDT TRC-20).
Others are 378 electronics, one factory, one hotel, two gold chains, 14 parcels of land, petroleum products and 70 tons of unidentified solid minerals.
According to the commission, some of the monetary recoveries have been reinvested by the Federal Government in initiatives that provide significant benefits to the Nigerian people. Apart from contributing to various developmental projects, enhancing public welfare and promoting sustainable growth across the country, the initiatives also contribute to improving the quality of life for Nigerians and support the country’s long-term development goals.
An example is the ₦50BN granted to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) by the Federal Government from the monetary recoveries of the Commission.
For prosecutions, the Commission secured 4,111 convictions in 2024, its highest number of convictions in any operational year in the EFCC’s 22-year history. These were from 15,724, petitions, 12,928 investigations, and 5,083 prosecutions.
Leading the pack is the Lagos Zonal Directorate with 685 convictions from 3,224 petitions, 2,454 cases investigated, and 786 cases filed in court. This is followed by Enugu with 516 convictions from 545 cases prosecuted and Ibadan with 501 convictions from 786 prosecutions.
Others are Benin with 412 convictions, Ilorin with 230, Kaduna with 273, Gombe with 147, Kano with 148, Abuja with 140, Makurdi with161, Maiduguri 95, Port Harcourt 185, Sokoto 108 and Uyo with 220 convictions.
Eighteen-Eleven Media