We’ve secured 45 convictions in 8 months, says EFCC

Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, on Thursday,  said the commission has secured over 45 convictions in Lagos courts in the last eight months.

Magu, who was represented by Deputy Director of Operations, Lagos Zonal Office, Mr. illiyasu Kwarbai,   denied that the commission tortures suspects in its detention centres to extract confessions, adding that if any suspect gets sick, they are immediately taken to the commission’s clinic or referred to a hospital.

He said suspects are only detained beyond 48 hours with a court order.

Medical bills incurred by suspects are also borne by the commission, which he said feeds them three times daily.

Kwarbai, who took journalists and civil society leaders on a tour of the commission’s Lagos facilities, said despite the resistance of some accused persons, the operatives are professional in their approach.

Among the facilities visited were EFCC’s detention centre on 7, Okotie-Eboh Street, Ikoyi, its clinic, interview rooms and computerised offices.

Each room in the detention facility, with male and female sections, has two mattresses, a shower and a toilet. Kwarbai said two suspects are assigned to a room. There is also a church, named “House of Reconciliation with God”, and a mosque. The clinic has two consulting rooms with two doctors, nurses and a dispensary.

His words: “In the course of interviews some other windows will be opened, which may require further interrogation. In that case we secure court order or remand warrant to enable us keep them.

“Before we put them in detention we serve them with bail conditions which they will sign. They’re immediately admitted to bail pending when they produce reasonable sureties, so that if they’re released we ensure that they come back.

“So, we don’t beat any person here. We don’t extract confessional statements. We investigate financial crimes, not robbery or murder where suspects leave the scene and make up an alibi. We don’t need your confessional statements to gather facts and figures. We go to the banks and get our facts. There is no need for us to introduce any harsh method of interrogation at all. We don’t do it.”

He said some suspects used to life of luxury “fall sick” once they are taken to the detention centre. He said a vehicle is stationed at the centre to take any sick accused person to the clinic, which the EFCC staff also use.

Kwarbai said one of EFCC’s strategies is to recover stolen funds from suspects. Over N2billion, he said, has been recovered this year, including properties worth billions.

“Our recoveries are in billions. If we don’t recover some of these funds and you leave them with the accused persons, then we are in trouble and the country is also in trouble, because they have ‘destructive’ weapons,” he said.