EFCC Secures 2,220 Convictions in 2021
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, secured a total of 2220 (Two Thousand Two Hundred and Twenty) convictions across all its Commands in 2021. The figure which emerged from a review of the Commission’s performance in the outgone year shows that the Lagos Command of the Agency recorded the most convictions-481, closely followed by the Ibadan Command with 324 convictions, while the Port Harcourt Zonal Command had 230 convictions.
The conviction secured by the Commission in 2021 is the highest by the EFCC Since inception. Before 2021, the highest record of conviction by the Commission was secured in 2019 with 1280 convictions. The 2220 record of 2021 is a 127.5 % improvement over the 2019 record.
Interestingly too, the 2220 record represents a 98.49% success rate in prosecution as the Commission lost only 34 cases during this period.
Commenting on the performance, the Executive 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 will continue to motivate all categories of staff for greater efficiency through capacity development and other incentives.
EFCC Secures Conviction of Investment Scammer in Gombe
The Gombe Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday, January 4, 2022, secured the conviction of one Sunday Ariyo Anyanfelowa, a radiographer and self-styled bitcoin and investment guru, for defrauding his victim the sum of Nine Hundred and Thirty Thousand Naira (N930, 000.00).
The offence is contrary to Section 1 (1) and punishable under Section 1(3) all of Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.
The defendant who was arraigned on November 24, 2018, was sentenced to seven years imprisonment without an option of fine by Justice B.L Iliya of the Gombe State High Court.
Anyanfeoluwa’s travail began sometimes in 2017 when he falsely represented himself in a WhatsApp Chat called “BIC Investment Giant”, to be a bitcoin expert and convinced the petitioner to part with the said sum for bitcoin investment with the promise of high returns on the investment to the victim’s e-wallet account.
However, investigation by the EFCC revealed that the defendant withdrew the money sent to him from a Point of Sale vendor and diverted the proceeds to personal use.
