The chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC,) Ibrahim Lamorde, has called for an enhanced working relationship between the EFCC and the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) in order to curb land scam and other fraudulent practices in the FCT.
Lamorde made the appeal during a courtesy visit to FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed in his office on Thursday.
According to the EFCC chairman, there was the need for closer collaboration between the anti-graft agency and FCTA as some unscrupulous people were laundering proceeds of crime through land and property acquisitions in the FCT.
He noted that such persons did not use financial instruments to make payment for properties and often did not bother to change ownership after such acquisitions, making it difficult to verify the identities of the new owners or the sources of fund, adding that over 270 cases of land scam were reported to the commission in the last three years.
Lamorde noted that the commission suspected insider abuse in some of the cases investigated and called on the minister to be prepared to initiate disciplinary action against erring officers under him.
Responding, the minister thanked the EFCC chairman for the visit and commended the commission for its effort to stamp out corruption in the FCT.
“Without anti-corruption agencies like the EFCC, ICPC, I am not sure how the FCT would have been ranked and so we will continue to give the commission the necessary support in order to build a vibrant relationship where it won’t be business as usual,” Mohammed said.
Senator Mohammed disclosed that the commission had supported the FCTA in terms of arresting the scourge of corruption and revenue leakages in the FCT, especially on land charges.
He said the most brazen of the vices was land fraud and that the EFCC had assisted by arresting and prosecuting those involved.
The EFCC boss was accompanied on the visit by senior management staff of the agency, including the director, Organisational Support, Bolaji Salami; director of Operations, Olaolu Adegbite; director of Legal and Prosecution, Chile Okoroma and deputy director, Public Affairs, Osita Nwajah.
Abiola Alaba Peters Reporting
No comments:
Post a Comment