…Court blocks agency’s attempts to recover N13bn
By Andrew Orolua
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has indicted religious sect in Nigeria for laundering money for terrorists.
The anti graft agency also said it has traced N7 billion of N13 billion laundred by a suspect to the bank account of another religious body.
The chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, made the shocking revelation in Abuja on Wednesday.
Olukoyede, however, did not disclose the identities of the suspect and the religious bodies involved in the crime.
The EFCC chair made the disclosure at the launching of the agency’s Fraud Risk Assessment Project (FRAP)
According to him, the anti graft agency was investigating a suspect in a N13 billion fraud when it traced N7 billion of the stolen money to the bank account of the religious body.
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Olukoyede said while the leaders of the religious body were protecting the suspect from being investigated, a court in Nigerian gave an order restraining the EFCC from investigating the leaders of the errant religious body.
He said, “We were able to trace some laundered money to a religious organisation, and when we approached the religious organisation about it and we were carrying out our investigation, we got a restraining court order stopping us from carrying out our investigation.”
The EFCC chair, however, said the agency would not be deterred by the court order, “as we have appealed against it to pave way for recovery of the fund.”
The chairman said the Fraud Risk Assessment Project would enable the commission prevent corruption and gradually eradicate it in the Ministries Departments, and Agencies of government.
The Commission, he added, would establish a threshold upon which FRAP will be activated and “once any one goes beyond it, we start investigation.”
EFCC boss added that the agency’s projection is that FRAP will first beam the search light on the Presidential Villa, the National Assembly, Ministry of Works, the Judiciary and others. “We want to see what they are doing with our money”, he added.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, who launched the project, assured the EFCC chairman of Federal Government’s support and that the EFCC chair would need no special prayers to do his job.
The Vice President gave the assurance following an earlier comment by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi that EFCC boss “was on his own if he wants to investigate those who appointed him.”.
Shettima urged the youth to refrain from cybercrime, embark on lawful ventures and “let your talents shine.” He enjoined the youth to key into the Federal Government’s N66 billion intervention fund.
The Vice President also urged religious leaders to be the pillars of guidance in the current effort to rescue the country from corruption.
In his goodwill massage, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, said FRAP is put in place to deter corruption by adopting co-ordinated preventive measures.
Fagbemi said since prevention is better than cure, concerted efforts should be channeled towards preventive aspect of the Commission’s mandate as it is cheaper and easier to prevent crimes.
“The Commission’s mandate goes beyond investigation and prosecution of financial crimes which it had over the years pursued vigorously. The cost of investigating and prosecuting all species of financial crimes will significantly reduce with adequate preventive measures in place” he added.
The Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Sa’ad Abubakar, President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Archbishop Daniel Okoh and the Chairman Committee of Vice -Chancellors Prof Lilian Salami pledged support for the project.
Sultan Abubakar, who was disturbed by the EFCC chairman’s revelations, promised to invite the agency’s chair to the next interfaith council meeting to drum home the massage on members.
The event aimed at addressing the challenges of youth involvement in cybercrimes and how religion could be used as a weapon for their reorientation.
Saturday Times had exclusively reported in its January 27, 2024 edition that the EFCC would be beaming the search light on religious bodies, betting firms and Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs).
The report had detailed how some religious organisations were using their bank accounts to aid movement of huge sums of monies in various currencies.
The illicit transactions are also being facilitated by banks, insurance companies, forex dealers, estate developers as well as NGOs.
Saturday Times report further stated that suspected money launderers send such funds from abroad as their ‘widow’s mite’ ‘seed’, ‘tithes’, and ‘offering’ to such religious organisations.
“In some cases, they pay it as intervention funds or grants, which is to be distributed to the ‘less privileged’ members of the organisations and later reach out to founders of such organisations on a shared interest, immediately such illicit funds hit the religious organisations’ accounts. A lot is going on in the religious organisations. Most of them are aiding money laundering using their organisations’ accounts”, a source had told the newspaper.
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