EFCC to tighten grip on banks

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has vowed to disrupt terrorist financing networks by monitoring banking transactions and cutting off funds to bandits, reports Vanguard. EFCC chairman, Ola Olukoyede, made this commitment through his representative, Commander Wilson Uwujaren, director of the Public Affairs Directorate, at the 2024 Annual Civil-Military Conference in Abuja. The move aims to curb rising insecurity and banditry in Nigeria, which has been linked to corruption and illicit financial flows. To achieve this goal, Olukoyede said that the EFCC will work closely with the armed forces. According to him, corruption breeds poverty, which in turn drives jobless individuals to embrace recruitment into banditry, kidnapping and terrorism. He explained that by blocking illicit funds, the commission hopes to reduce the financial incentives for these criminal activities. The EFCC said: ‘Corruption is the key issue in terms of the promotion of insecurity in this nation. When people talk about insecurity and national development, one factor that is important to note is the implication of corruption on national security management and development. It is time for us to collectively fight corruption which has become a major challenge to our nation’s development. The loss of resources to corruption denies our nation the resources we should have used to provide infrastructure and digital services for our people, deepening the poverty we experience in this country.’

Full report on the Vanguard site