Pascal Arogorn Ibe
The newly-appointed Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, on Wednesday, disclosed that the commission had identified about N70 billion fraud perpetrated through the Federal Government fuel subsidy programme.
Bawa made the disclosure in an interview with journalists at the Ikeja High Court, Lagos, after testifying in a fuel subsidy trial involving an oil firm, Nadabo Energy.
“We have identified fraud of about N70 billion perpetrated through the fuel subsidy.
“So far the commission has recovered N20 billion from the N70 billion and we are working to recover the rest,” Bawa said.
Expressing concerns at the slow pace of some of the fuel subsidy trials, Bawa said the commission will continue to rigorously pursue all its cases in court.
“Yes, we are worried about the slow pace of some of the fuel subsidy cases we charged to court since 2012, when investigations were concluded.
“Criminal trials are guided by statutes and procedures and we will continue to follow them. I have been a witness in this particular trial involving Nadabo Energy for five years and hopefully, we will get a conviction,” he said.
Bawa also disclosed that the EFCC is working tirelessly to arrest an alleged fuel subsidy suspect, who was arraigned in 2012, but jumped bail and fled the country.
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