LAGOS, Nigeria – The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Nigeria’s leading anti-corruption agency, expressed grave concern on Thursday, July 13, 2023, over the increasing number of forex and investment scams reported in Lagos, the nation’s economic hub.
The total value of these scams has been put at an alarming sum of N317.9 billion, $3.205 million, and N1.686 billion.
Speaking at a workshop on Economic and Financial Crimes Reporting for Journalists in Lagos, Acting Executive Chairman of EFCC, Mr. Abdulkarim Chukkol, lamented the ease at which Nigerians have fallen prey to fraud related to forex, business email compromise, investment scams, and land and property.
“As the economic nerve centre of Nigeria, all manner of economic and financial crimes find the Lagos environment a perfect location to incubate and bloom,” Chukkol said, noting the prevalence of “Forex scam, business email compromise, investment scams and land and property fraud” within the region.
Chukkol revealed the Lagos Command had received a total of 1,388 petitions on investment and forex-related scams, involving the staggering sums mentioned above.
He assured that many of these cases are under active investigation, with recoveries already running into billions of naira and millions and thousands in other currencies.
The EFCC chairman expressed concern over citizens’ susceptibility to such scams, blaming it on a desperation for quick riches.
“Their folly is energized by the desperation to get rich quick,” he noted.
Over the past few months, the commission has amplified public sensitization efforts, in the belief that equipped with the right information, people could avoid falling prey to such crimes.
Here, Chukkol pointed out, is where media professionals can play a vital role.
“We need the media to help in educating citizens to be circumspect in embracing investment opportunities, especially where the return on investment seems too good to be true,” he stated.
Chukkol ended his address by urging the media to fulfill its duty in exposing criminal acts and reinforcing the idea that the fight against economic and financial crimes should not be left solely to the EFCC and other anti-corruption agencies.
“The media should do more to support the commission and mobilize the people to take full ownership of the fight against corruption in our country,” he concluded.
