Kaduna EFCC Zonal office recovered N227 million

The zonal office of the Economic Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) in Kaduna has recovered over N227 million in the last seven months.
The sum, according to the Commission’s Head of Operations in the zone, Ibrahim Bappa, is made up of N221, 336,884 and 17.600USD (about 6. 4Million) recovered from various persons under investigation by the commission.
Bappa, who disclosed this in a statement in Kaduna, also said the commission has screened 864 suspects, arrested within the period arising from 220 petitions received.
He said from the petitions, 130 had been referred for further investigations, 10 cases under prosecution in court while 80 others had been referred to sister agencies for further investigations.
Bappa said judging from the cooperation of the Judiciary in Kaduna state, there was high degree of hope for the EFCC to prosecute financial crimes.
He said interim forfeiture orders have been obtained from the court in respect to some of the assets acquired illegally by some individuals, while the N49 million recovered at Kaduna International Airport in March has also been temporarily forfeited to the federal government.
“The zone also wishes to seize this opportunity to inform members of the public to be wary of fake facebook accounts of the Acting Chairman of the commission fraudulently designed to dupe unsuspecting victims.
“Nigerians are further advised to be suspicious of business proposals with quick and high profit returns; as it may be bait by fraudsters to swindle them of their hard earned assets,” the statement said.
The commission further urged all financial Institutions to ensure strict compliance with the “know your customer” requirements before opening accounts for individuals and corporate bodies which is a requirement under Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011.
The statement noted that although the Zonal Office of the EFCC was commissioned only last month, it has made remarkable impact in the state and its environs stressing that even before the office was officially commissioned, investigations into cases had begun and some cases were already in court.s