Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, or EFCC for short, is a Nigerian organization responsible for pursuing cases of financial crime like advance fee fraud and money laundering.
EFCC was established in 2004 by President Olusegun Obasanjo under the EFCC Establishment Act 2004, and its first chairman was Nuhu Ribadu. Corruption is seen as commonplace in Nigeria; without a commission dedicated to rooting it out, the situation would be far worse.
The establishment of the Economic and Financial Offences Commission (EFCC) had as one of its goals the detection, investigation, prosecution, and punishment of such crimes. Other economic and financial criminal laws and regulations are also enforced by the EFCC.
Financial Malpractices in Banks Act (1994), Failed Banks (Recovery of Debts) Act (1994), Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offenses Act (1995), and the Miscellaneous Offences Act (1995).
Here we will be writing on EFCC offices in Abuja and all you need to know about this organization.
EFCC offices in Abuja
EFCC Headquarter in Abuja
Plot 301/302, Institution and Research Cadastral District,
Jabi.
Abuja
Nigeria
EFCC Office in Abuja
No. 5, Fomella Street, Off Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent,
Wuse II,
Abuja,
Nigeria.
Twitter Handle: https://twitter.com/officialEFCC
How many zonal offices does EFCC?
New Zonal Heads have been appointed in 12 of the EFCC’s 14 Zonal offices in a recent effort to bolster the organization’s operations.
How long is EFCC training?
Six months of intense training within and outside of the Academy will be required to complete the programme. The training was officially opened by Emmanuel Aremu, the Secretary of the EFCC, who urged the officers to take on his ideals of honesty, hard work, and dedication to duty.
What department is EFCC?
Public Affairs Unit of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
About EFCC
Advance fee fraud (419 fraud) and money laundering are just two of the financial crimes that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of Nigeria investigates.
In 2003, the EFCC was founded in part because to pressure from the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), which had identified Nigeria as one of 23 countries that were not cooperating with international efforts to combat money laundering. The agency’s headquarters are located in Abuja, Nigeria.
Previous EFCC chairman Nuhu Ribadu led the agency in its fight against financial corruption by successfully prosecuting and sentencing several high-profile corrupt persons, including Nigeria’s former chief law enforcement officer and several bank chief executives. Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and other government officials were among those arrested by the EFCC in 2005.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was investigating 31 of Nigeria’s 36 state governors for corruption in September 2006. After thorough investigations by the EFCC and other organizations, the Nigerian Federal Government exonerated the Vaswani brothers of any wrongdoing in December 2007 and welcomed them back into the country.
Major Nigerian newspapers, including “This Day,” cited official FG guidelines in reporting the details of their clearance. As of April 2008, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, the highly important daughter of a former Nigerian President, was under investigation by the EFCC for receiving N10 million ($100,000) stolen from the Ministry of Health. Both the former Minister of Health and her deputy are on trial for embezzling more than $300,000 from the ministry’s unspent funds from the previous fiscal year.
Chief (Mrs.) Farida Mzamber Waziri was sworn in as chairperson of the EFCC on June 6, 2008.
[1] On August 6, 2008, former chairman Nuhu Ribadu was demoted from Assistant Inspector General (AIG) to Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP).
Abdullahi Muazu, the EFCC’s forensics unit chief, was killed in Kaduna on September 14th, 2010. Several bank CEOs’ cases had included him as a key player.
Waziri was removed from his position as chairman by President Goodluck Jonathan on November 23, 2011, and his replacement, Ibrahim Lamorde, was confirmed by the Nigerian senate on February 15, 2012.
After President Muhammadu Buhari fired Ibrahim Lamorde on November 9, 2015, he appointed Ibrahim Magu to take his position. Due to security concerns raised by Nigeria’s law enforcement, the country’s Senate twice rejected Magu’s nomination as the agency’s chief.
On July 6, 2020, agents from the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Police Force arrested Magu and took him to the Presidential Villa to question him about corruption allegations. Following his detention the night of July 6, he was removed as chairman of the agency pending the outcome of an investigation.
In a statement released by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation on July 10, 2020, it was announced that Ibrahim Magu had been suspended immediately from his position as acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari. Prior to the conclusion of the ongoing investigation and further orders, President Muhammadu Buhari also ordered that Mohammed Umar Abba, the EFCC’s Director of Operations, take command and oversee the activities of the Commission on 16 February 2021.