From Fred Itua, Abuja
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), said it secured a total of 3, 785 convictions across all its commands in the year 2022.
According to a report by the Commission, the figure, which emerged from a review of the Commission’s performance in the outgone year, shows a 70.5% improvement over its’ record for 2021 (2220).
It also represents a 98.93% success rate in prosecution given that the Commission lost only 41 cases, representing 1.07% within the period under review. As it was in 2021, the Lagos command of the Agency recorded the most convictions: 765, closely followed by the Ibadan Command, with 573 convictions,and the Port Harcourt Zonal Command: 567, while the headquarters recorded 314 convictions.
The conviction secured by the Commission in 2022 is the highest by the EFCC Since inception, and sustains an upward trajectory which began shortly after the emergence of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“The Buhari administration was elected in 2015 on a tripod of promises- anti-corruption, economic recovery and security. In 2015, the EFCC recorded a total of 103 convictions. This shot to 195 convictions in 2016, the first full year in office of the Buhari administration.
“The figure improved to 312 in 2018, 1,280 in 2019, dropped slightly to 976 convictions in 2020, the year of covid-19, then moved up to 2,220 in 2021.
“The percentile improvement of the EFCC convictions in the seven years of the Buhari administration from 103 to 3785, is over 3574.8%,” the report revealed.
Commenting on the performance, chairman of the EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, commended the personnel of the Commission for their industry and dedication despite the challenges of criminal prosecution in court. He assured that the EFCC would continue to motivate all categories of staff for greater efficiency through capacity development and other incentives.
