EFCC Secures 2220 Convictions In 2021 – Lai Mohammed

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed disclosed this at a media briefing on Thursday in Abuja.

He said the figure represented 127 per cent increase in the 976 convictions recorded in 2020, and a far cry from the 195 convictions secured in 2016, the 189 in 2017, the 312 convictions in 2018, and the 1,280 recorded in 2019.

“The 2021 figure of 2,220 convictions represents a 98.49 per cent success rate, with only 34 cases (representing 1.51 per cent) discharged.”

On monetary recoveries, in 2021 alone, the EFCC recovered a total monetary amount of N152.8 billion 1.18 million Pounds and 50 Emirati Dirham, 1.7 Saudi Riyal and 1,900 South African Rand;

“The commission also recovered 386.2 million dollars, 20,202.85; 156,246.76 Euros; 1,400 Canadian Dollars;

“5.36957319 Bitcoin and 0.09012 Ethereum, both digital currencies were also recovered,’’ he said

The minister said the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC)’s Assets Tracing, Recovery and Management (ATRM) project led to the recovery of cash totaling N34.346 billion and 1.62 million dollars between 2019 and 2021.

He said the Commission’s System Study and Review of personnel and capital votes of MDAs resulted in savings of N261 billion to the government between 2019 and 2021.

He disclosed that the ICPC has also secured 66 convictions from the 243 cases it filed in court during the same three-year period.

“The ICPC has played a pivotal role in bringing about structural changes in the operations of the government.”

This is notable in the improvements in MDAs budget utilization, better value for money, improved project completion, service delivery and higher level of anti-corruption awareness.

“The Commission established the Constituency and Executive Projects Tracking Initiative in 2019 to ensure value for money for the Nigerian people and full execution of projects.

“Between 2019 and 2021, ICPC traced 2,000 projects worth over N300 billion.”

During the same period, 326 contractors of abandoned projects across the six geo-political zones were forced by the Commission to return to site to complete projects worth N32.183 billion.

The minister commended the anti-graft agencies and urged Nigerians to keep supporting the government in the fight against corruption.