EFCC recovers N227m in Kaduna zonal office

The amount, the anti-graft agency said was for the period of seven months of its operations in the zonal office which was recently inaugurated in Kaduna State. According to the EFCC, the sum is made up of N221,336,884.06 and $17,600 (about N6.4m) recovered from various persons under investigation by the commission. The agency, in a statement signed by its Head of operations in the zonal office, Ibrahim Bappa, noted that 865 arrested suspects were screened by the commission within the period 220 number of petitions it received. Bappa added that from the petitions, 130 have been referred for investigation, 10 cases are currently under prosecution in courts while 80 have been referred to sister agencies for further investigations. The EFCC boss expressed satisfaction with the judiciary in Kaduna State in giving speedy trials to financial crime in the zone. He said interim forfeiture orders have been obtained from the court in respect of some of the assets acquired illegally by some individuals. Meanwhile, the head of operations said the N49m recovered at Kaduna International Airport, has been temporarily forfeited to the Federal Government. He said, “The zone also wishes to seize this opportunity to inform members of the public to be wary of fake facebook accounts of the Ag. Chairman of the Commission fraudulently designed to dupe unsuspecting victims. “Nigerians are further advised to be suspicious of business proposals with quick and high-profit returns; as it may be bait by fraudsters to swindle them of their hard earned assets.” He called on financial institutions to ensure strict compliance with customers requirements before opening accounts for them under the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011.]]>