EFCC says intercepts N15.5b at airports

 

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman Ibrahim Lamorde yesterday said about N15.5 billion has been intercepted at the nation’s airports this year.

The EFCC has filed 353 cases at various courts and recorded about 53 convictions so far, he added.

Lamorde spoke at the 2012 International Anti-Corruption Day celebrations, with the theme “ACT….Help Detect Corruption Risks Today”, organised by the Inter – Agency Task Team (IATT).

The IATT is an umbrella of anti –corruption agencies.

Lamorde said the “amount represented physical cash, and not legitimate cash transfer through the financial institutions, taken out through the nation’s airports”.

A statement by the Head of Media and Publicity, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, said N14billion being couriered outside the country was intercepted at the nation’s airports between January and August.

He added that the operation of a Special Task Team, which is a joint patrol of the airport by EFCC operatives and Nigerian Customs officers, which began in September 2012, had yielded the arrest of illegal cash courier with over $9million.

Lamorde gave the example of an individual, who was arrested for laundering money in cash to the tune of $7 million in brief case and flying out of the country through the airport.

He traced the illegal transfer and corruption to greed, callousness and meanness of the people involved.

The statement quoted Lamorde as saying: “Corruption is one of the reasons Nigeria has not been able to make progress, socially, politically and economically and we have all agreed that corruption cannot be sustained in Nigeria, all of us must come together to fight corruption.”

The EFCC chairman said the funding of the anti-corruption agencies and their operating legislations should be reviewed.

He explained that between January and December 2012, the Commission filed about 353 cases at various courts across the country and had recorded about 53 convictions so far.

Lamorde said: “Criminal procedure rather than judiciary should be blamed for the problem of slow pace of trial of corruption cases.

“Somebody cannot steal from you and expect that the law should protect him against you the victim of his crime. Something has to be done. I pray that the new leadership of the judiciary will be able to do something.”

He called for a special court to take on corruption cases.

He added: “Judges are either transferred or the witnesses dead. It is not fair on the anti-corruption agencies to say they are delaying cases.

“Let cases not last forever. If you think there is no case, please discharge the person but where the person has a case to answer, the case should be concluded in good time.”

The IATT Chairman, Mr. Ledum Mitee, identified some reasons why the fight against corruption is stagnant.

Mitee listed the factors as weak anti-corruption institutions in terms of capacity; funding and coordination; failure of leadership at all levels to genuinely talk the talk and walk the walk and the need for a more concerted effort in ensuring synergy in the operations of Anti-Corruption Agencies.

He described performance in the anti-corruption as poor.

Mitee said: “However, we cannot continue on this path. We must steer the ship aright. With the establishment of the Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT), synergy is being built among the anti-corruption agencies; the era of individual turf is waning, giving room for possible joint investigations and prosecutions which in turn is expected to result in effective sanctions and prevention of corruption.”

Mitee added that another way corruption could be collectively and systematically addressed “is by adopting a Holistic National Strategy to Combat Corruption. And I understand that the IATT has developed a draft National Strategy document. This document is most encouraging and should be given every push for adoption by the Federal Government.”

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