From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Makurdi Zonal Command said it has recorded 164 convictions and recovered about N800 million in the last eight months.
The Zonal Commander, Makurdi Zonal Command, Anselem Ozioko, disclosed this while speaking to newsmen in Makurdi.
Ozioko, who oversees Benue, Nasarawa and Plateau states under the command, said under his watch, the command has also recovered over 12 vehicles, several motorcycle among other gadgets.
He told Daily Sun that, “I assumed office on April 18, 2024, when I came we engaged a lot of stakeholders including security enforcement agencies, the media, there was a lot of collaborations and that yielded a lot of positive results.
“Within the period under review, we recorded 164 convictions and recovered about N800 million. We also recovered over 12 vehicles, several motorcycles and countless number of gadgets and things within that family.”
The Zonal Commander, who noted that the staff of the commission were no magicians, attributed their huge success to the hardworking staff of the command and the collaborative efforts of Benue stakeholders saying “We did a lot of sensitization, we also changed our strategies which yielded positive results.
“It was as if these young people were not here before for us to have recorded this huge success. The boys have always been here but our strategies got better this time around than what it used to be.
“I give a lot of credit to my colleagues for being very effective and efficient, they were highly resourceful thinking outside the box and other major stakeholders for intel we received which at the end of the day also yielded positive results”
Ozioko also disclosed that the command has over 350 matters in court which are ongoing explaining that, “some are cases born out of sting operations, some are normal cases involving embezzlement of funds, some also include Political Exposed Persons (PEPs).
“We have cases involving billions, we have other matters on assets and we are digging deep. I believe that at the end of the day our efforts will not be in futility.”
He urged the general public to report any matter that relates to financial or economic crime saying the commission has the mandate to investigate and prosecute offenders.
He further noted that,”Any matter that relates to financial crime is one of our major mandates. if there are issues involving assets, we also have the mandate to recover assets.”