Abuja - The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) announced jointly that they had recovered over N600bn of stolen money from individuals.

While the EFCC said it had recovered more than $5bn, the ICPC said it had recovered about N13bn from ‘systems study’ and corruption prevention exercise by the commission as well as unremitted tax revenue from public sector agencies.

Both commissions made the disclosure during a joint strategy retreat for anti-corruption agencies, including the Code of Conduct Bureau organised by the Coalitions 4 Change, in Abuja.

The EFCC Chief of Staff, Mr. Dapo Olorunyomi, who represented the Acting Chairman of the commission, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, noted that those calling for the merger of the EFCC and the ICPC were ignorant of the distinct roles of both organisations.

“Corruption is a dynamic phenomenon and usually manifests itself through diverse formations. It operates through a network mechanism. What the country needs, therefore, is an efficient synergy of anti-corruption organisations to effectively combat corruption,” he said.

Olorunyomi said the task of the EFCC was to understand the operations of corruption networks and to device internal strategies to check them.

“If one must check the menace of corruption in our system, one must really understand the dynamics of the corruption, and the EFCC has worked overtime to remain ahead of corrupt individuals in our society,” he said.

The ICPC Head of Department of Education, Mrs. Rasheedat Okoduwa, who represented ICPC Boss, Justice Emmanuel Ayoola, said that the commission was prosecuting about 148 criminal cases involving 284 persons in courts.

She noted that over N5bn recovered by the commission was from government ministries, department and agencies during the review of personnel cost profile by the ICPC.

She said, “More than N3bn was also recovered by the ICPC officials from the Universal Basic Education Commission during the review exercise of the commission’s utilisation of appropriated funds.”

Okoduwa explained that the low rate of convictions from the ICPC was as a result of the challenges faced by the commission and its insistence on operating by the rule of law.

“The ICPC has made it a point of duty to apply all available legal means to rid Nigeria of all forms of corruption and thus promote transparency, probity, accountability and integrity in the public and private life of Nigerians,” she said.

Click here to read the full story from the Punch

Subscribe To Site:

Full Post Feed | Summary Feed | Comments Feed