Can EFCC Wipe Out Corruption in Nigeria?

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Once upon a time,  three commissioners (names withheld) in Ebonyi State were arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for fraud-related offences.

Prior to their arrest, the three commissioners were unscrupulously “tapping” money from local government coffers, and living the good life as everything appeared to be going smoothly and fine on the surface for each of them.

But on Tuesday 14th January, 2015,  operatives of the EFCC stormed Abakaliki and arrested the three commissioners who were taken straight to Abuja for questioning on allegations bordering on corruption and financial impropriety relating to the administration of local government funds in the state. The suspects were pressed to disclose information on an Asphalt project approved for all the 13 local government areas of the state for which council funds running into millions of Naira were allegedly deducted at source. The exact amount of money involved in the asphalt project was not disclosed.

Because of the interrogations at EFCC headquarters (Tunde Idiagbon Head Office of the commission) in Wuse II Abuja, it was gatheered that one of the commissioners had directed that funds for the construction of the asphalt complex be deducted from the local government account at source. Six of the local government areas complied with the directive while seven refused, yet deductions were allegedly made from the accounts of all 13 local government areas. Also there was an alleged deduction of N1m each from the 13 local government areas for the production of T-shirts used for the centenary celebrations.

Because of these revelations, the operatives of the commission have added more evidence to be used for nailing the commissioners for the production of N13m T-shirts with local government money that has been unaccounted for and many other fraud related allegations. This means that the EFCC will keep working to arrest and prosecute financial criminals. Until finally, corruption is wiped out of Nigeria.

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