The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has successfully convicted over 60 people on trial for financial crimes in Rivers State within the year.
The anti-graft agency also stated that, based on its statistics, cyber fraud was at the top of the convictions and criminal cases it was investigating, and urged the public to supply it with relevant information to aid its operations.
The Commission made this disclosure on Thursday during an anti-corruption walk in Port Harcourt organised by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s Port Harcourt Zonal Command in collaboration with Civil Society Organisations, Sister Security Agencies, and Relief International Africa to commemorate the 2024 African Union Anti-Corruption Day, titled ‘Effective WhistleBlower Protection Mechanism, A Critical Tool in the fight against Corruption’.
Adebayo Adeniyi, the Acting Zonal Director of the EFCC, Port Harcourt Zonal Directorate, stated that oil theft is one of the crimes that distinguishes corruption fighting in the state, noting that criminality is high.
“I have been here for over three months. I came in from Abuja and I noticed that the kind of criminal offences that happen here are quite different because the terrain is different. Here you see bunkering and all of that, we don’t see those kinds of things in Abuja.
“The offence and criminal acts are different here. In that case you might have a bit of a high level of criminal activity here because of the activities here,” Adeniyi said.
According to the Acting Director, the commission has successfully convicted 60 people on corruption charges this year, and Internet fraud is a major issue in the state.
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Adeniyi said: “We have a lot of people under prosecution, but so far we have over 60 convictions, we have had this year. And we are going because we have a lot of cases in court. There are a lot of offences committed and a lot of investigations going on. The legal department and the operations departments are putting in their best.
“I am new in Rivers State, but I have not seen a lot of whistleblowers, but with this campaign today, it will bring awareness to the people. If you don’t communicate with people, they would not know you can communicate with them and receive this kind of information. We wish to inform them that they are safe when they give us information.
“Looking at it. You will see that internet fraud is always at a high level. We know our youths these days are every opportunity they go into internet fraud. So, the level of crime is high, that is why you see that we are trying to clamp down on them and see how we can reduce it.”
