Gift Joseph Okpakorese
As a result of the numerous cybercrimes and series of corruption and fraudulent activities being experienced and recorded daily within the banking sector, and in most government parastatals, there is, therefore, the need for a proper investigation and monitoring to have proper documentation of individual assets and also to keep track of how individuals generate revenue and expenditures as well as nib in the bud any form of fraudulent or criminal occurrences.
Newspaper reports recently released a statement by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which has given an injunction that all bank workers are to declare their assets following the bank employee’s declaration of assets act.
According to the report, the act compels every bank worker to make a maximum exposure of all possession within 14 days of resumption of duty with any bank.
More so, the Commission gave a deadline date of the first of June, for workers to comply with the recent directive. The
chairman of the EFCC Abdulrasheed Bawa, on Tuesday 16th March 2021, confirmed the injunction while speaking with journalists after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Chairman of the criminal investigative agency continued and revealed that he had discussed the efforts of the council towards the complete removal of financial frauds within the federation. Bawa, therefore, acknowledged that the move is geared toward checking the role of banks in keeping funds acquired illegitimately.
In his own words;
“Let me just put this, we understood that at the tail end of every financial crime is for the criminal to have access to the funds that he or she has illegitimately gotten and we’re worried about the roles of financial institutions,” he said.
“And we have discussed, but we hope that all financial institutions, particularly the bankers, will declare their assets as provided for by the law, following the Bank Employees Declaration of Assets Act.
“And that the EFCC, come the 1st of June 2021, will be demanding for these asset declaration forms, filled by the bankers so that the line that we have drawn from the 1st of June is complied with by bankers in particular.”
The EFCC boss bemoaned the alarming rate at which people take to financial crimes and disclosed that the agency has recorded and charged an estimated number of about 300 individuals involved in fraudulent and cybercrimes across the nation barely within February and March.
“As a young man, I am appealing to all young Nigerians to desist from these cybercrime activities. It is bringing a bad image to our country, it is giving a bad name to our country, it is also chasing away a lot of foreign investment that we need,” Bawa said.
“And I call on all parents, guardians, and, of course, elders in the community, in the society to talk to these young people to desist from these crimes.
“These are crimes that they commit online. And of course, there is nothing like patting your back to say go and sin no more. Our laws do not provide for that. It is a crime and as we say in EFCC, EFCC will get you anywhere, anytime.”
This news obviously, comes as a pleasant surprise and welcomed development to all well-meaning Nigerians who have always looked forward to a crime-free society and longed for orderliness and honestly on the part of the federal government and citizens. Another interesting factor is that the FG has given the authorization of these agencies and ministries working hard to combat all forms of corruption and criminal activities as this move will enable the implementation of stringent measures against crimes and fraudulent practices and hopefully, help the country to achieve its desired intentions.
