Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Bolaji Owasanoye, says corruption is fueling political instability in West African nations.
He spoke in Abuja yesterday during the 5th Annual General Assembly of the Network of Anti-Corruption Institutions in West Africa (NACIWA) co-hosted by both the ICPC and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
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“I did indicate that West African States are fragile, and that fragility is made worse by several other factors like political instability, the insecurity across the sub-region, poor governance structures, weak rule of law and then, of course, corruption.
“Corruption is a push factor for all these elements within the sub-region, which makes it much more imperative for us to work together, especially given the high mobility of illicit financial flows, light arms, drug trafficking, human trafficking and all of the factors that lead to weak states,” Owasanoye said.
EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, said the commission, last year, secured an unprecedented conviction record of 2,220 and recoveries in excess of N152bn, $386m, among others.
He said the EFCC had also embarked on several reforms aimed at strengthening the institution, including the development of a reporting application named ‘Eagle Eye’ to ease reporting of incidences of economic and financial crimes by the public.
“The EFCC has further developed a five-year Strategic Plan that guides its operational approach in law enforcement action,” he added.
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