EFCC Secured 187 Convictions in the Last One Year – Magu

EFCC Secured 187 Convictions in the Last One Year – Magu

The Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Magu on Thursday, stated that the Commission has secured over 187 convictions in the last one year. Magu stated this while giving a keynote address on the ‘’Role and Challenges of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Enhancing Effective Public Service Performance’’ at an International Conference on Law, Security and Development Strategies organized by the International Institute for Policy Review and Development Strategies, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Magu who was represented by Dr. Hakeen Bello, scored the Federal government high for its support to the EFCC and the political will to fight corruption. According to him, the political will to combat graft ‘’used to be a problem in the past when former chairmen of EFCC were not always sure of whether their activities would receive the full support of the government.”
Magu said the Commission recorded major breakthroughs in prosecutions of politically exposed persons including the conviction of Temisan Omatseye, former Director General of Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA,
Magu stated that in a bid to strengthen investigative and prosecutorial efforts of the Commission, various arms of the agency have been restructured. He said new sections including Capital Market/Insurance Unit, Cyber Crime Units Forensic/Financial Investigation Unit, Foreign Exchange Malpractice Unit and Procurement Fraud Units were created to join the already existing units.
On the problem of inefficiency in the public service, Magu identified its major causes as over staffing and poor remuneration; poor assessment of manpower needs; use of wrong criteria to appraise staff performance; poor recruitment procedures, inadequate training and ineffective supervision. Other causes he identified are: political interference in the process of personnel administration, leading to improper delegation of power and ineffective supervision and corruption.
Professor Okey Onuchuku, Dean, Faculty of Social Science, UNIPORT, who represented the Vice Chancellor, Professor Lale Ndowa, commended the organizers of the events. He said the theme; “Global Perspectives To Legal Issues, Security and International Development” could not have come at a more auspicious time in view of the various challenges facing the country at the moment. According to him, ‘’if the country has functional institutions, it means there will be rule of law and if there is rule of law, it means there will be development’’. The Conference was attended by academics from local Universities within Nigeria.