Bawa made the disclosure while speaking at the Inter-Agency Task Team programme to mark 20 years of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), in Abuja.
Abdulrasheed Bawa, the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Wednesday, revealed that the anti-graft agency recorded 3,615 convictions across Nigeria as of December 5, 2022.
Bawa made the disclosure while speaking at the Inter-Agency Task Team programme to mark 20 years of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), in Abuja.
The EFCC boss who attributed the performance of the commission to institutional reforms, improved training of personnel and the support received from the Nigerian government, said, “In the last eighteen months, we developed a Standard Operational Procedure for all the sixteen departments and specialized wings to enable staff reduce the use of discretion which has really helped us to get the best out of our workforce.
“I would like to mention here that the last report that I got in terms of the number of convictions now is very scary. As of the 5th of December, 2022, it was 3,615 convictions.”
Bawa, however, stated that the Commission was working more on prevention and public engagement in achieving its mandate, especially with the reform of the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering, SCUML, which is now domiciled in the EFCC.
According to him, SCUML has improved control and oversight of designated non-financial businesses and professions.
At the event, the Country Representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Dr. Oliver Stolpe, said Nigeria has one of the most robust institutional and legal means to fight corruption worldwide.
Stolpe said studies conducted over the past years suggest that Nigeria is gradually being able to translate its formidable anti-corruption investments to a reduction in corruption level.
He said, “The reports we are launching today should give us a hint on what anti-corruption agencies can do more in their respective positions while the civil society representatives will also share their perspective on what they can expect from these leaders and how to work together to achieve greater results.
“So our aim here today is to identify what we can do differently in order to reap greater benefits from Nigeria`s anti-corruption investments.”