The Role Of Economic And Financial Crime Commission In Government Accountability Between 2004-2015

The Role Of Economic And Financial Crime Commission In Government Accountability Between 2004-2015

Chapter One

Introduction

Background Of The Study

The main focus of the exploration study is the impact of EFCC in the public sectors responsibility. profitable and fiscal crime commission is popularly known as EFCC. Crimes have been associated with man since his fall. Crime remain elusives and ever strives to hide itself in the most doubtful places.

Our Country has been arbitrated as loose. We’re said to have been in “ 419 ” bug. Some people have tagged Nigeria a ‘ fiscal terrorist ’ Nation on account of the volume of fiscal crimes that radiate from Nigeria. This crime is getting a culture in Nigeria both in private and public sectors. But the crime is more on public sector because power loose and absolute power loose absolutely. They’re more engaged in crime because of impunity clause covering them. That’s why the formal and first president of Economic and Financial Crime Commission( EFCC)( Nuhu Ribadu) in his statement release by BBC news on Thursday, 28 September 2006 by 0837 Nigeria time and GTM 0937 UK that nearly all of Nigeria’s State governors are being delved for corruption, theanti-graft agency head said. Nuhu Ribadu told the Nigeria Senate that 31 out of 36 State governors were being delved and that 15 of them would be charged in the coming weeks.

He also said that the world biggest pincher was Nigeria but was averted from naming him. Critics of the chairman Olusegun Obasanjo say that fight against corruption is being used as a political tool but Ribadu denies these charges.

He said that Nigeria governors enjoy impunity from execution while in office and the Country is regularly ranked as one of the world most loose Countries. He added, “ if we all live in the us, all of us will be in captivity by now, because the effects we do then can not be permitted there. By this statement, Ribadu is inferring that all of us are loose but I tête-à-tête didn’t believe in that. What I believe is that about 90 of us are loose. He rated also Zamfara State Governor( Sanithmed Yerima) ” as the worst case of corruption because it was direct robbery, no third party.

So numerous other public retainers have been tried and condemned. These men are the people we admire and call honorable. They walk and drive around the country in serene with the purpose of erecting the Nation, but the question is what good have they done or have in mind for this Country? The police man stopping for hunt, is he doing it for the love of our Country or is he doing it for the sake of his own satisfaction interest of highway robbery? Likewise, other public retainers.

In our Country Nigeria, we’ve about 43,953 attorneys call to bar, 707 high court and shariah court judges, 47 civil high court of judges, 46 court of appeal judges and 15 judges of the Supreme court of Nigerian. Nigeria spend about N annually on this people. piecemeal from that, numerous are being called to bar annually. Despite all these effects, I’m sorrowfully apprehensive of the fact that crime is adding rather of dwindling. While we now have legislation to regulate the conduct of public sectors for loose practices, the vices are still veritably important with us. Bank frauds are in upsurge, abuse and manipulation are still the stock in trade of numerous banks. 419 still looms large, plutocrat laundry from corrupts proceeds is visible. It’s this circumstances that us hovered to put councilor measure on Nigeria in 2004. If she did nothing to modernize her looms and take pains to fund the perpetrators of profitable and fiscal crimes.

Infact, it’s for this reason and the transnational dimension which this crimes had assumed that the promulgation of the EFCC act 2002 becomes ineluctable. The act which was reenacted in 2004 is revolutionary in numerous felicitations. For the first time, power of collaboration and enforcement of varied but affiliated profitable and fiscal crime laws are vested in one body. The description of profitable and fiscal crimes in section 46 of the plutocrat laundry Act is each about encompassing. 2nd, because the nature of the crime handed by the commission is at the heart of the frugality, all stakeholders like security agents, law enforcement agent and other fiscal controllers are members of the commission.3 rd, piecemeal from the offences created by the EFCC Act itself, the commission has responsibility of specifically apply the provision of other top laws ordering on profitable and fiscal crimes which includes the following;

i. The plutocrat laundry Act 2004

ii. The advanced figure fraud Act 1995

iii. Failed Bank( malpractice in bank Act 1991, as amended)

iv. The bank and other fiscal institution Act, 1996

v. The eclectic offences Act 1985

vi. Any other law or regulation relating to profitable and fiscal crimes including correctional law and felonious law.

Section 7 of EFCC Act).

We can now see that it isn’t the law but its enforcement to make sure that they’re stuck to. In other to do this, there must be men of integrity to see to it enforcement. This will help to reduce profitable and fiscal crime in our Country( Nigeria) most especially in public sectors of the frugality.

The issue of profitable and fiscal crime is a public issue affecting our frugality. In as important as there are is no responsibility in public sector, our frugality can not grow because both original and Foreign investors are spooked of investing in the Country

When we talk of responsibility, responsibility has dearly manifested itself as a star to be pursued if the status quo is to be executed. Responsibility as contained by long man Dictionary contemporary English is the condition or quality of being suitable to give an explanation for one’s action. Responsibility is also defined as the extending off return on stewardship relating to the operation of finances and other means of which individualities or institutions had been custodians.

The profitable and fiscal crime commission is established by profitable and fiscal crime commission Act 2003, as a bodyco-operates to apply and administer the provision of the Act. It’s designated fiscal and intelligence unit( FIU) in Nigeria with the power to co-ordinate the colorful institutions involved in the fight against plutocrat laundering and enforcement of all laws dealing with profitable and fiscal crime in Nigeria.

EFCC was established to play a major part which includes the following

disquisition of all fiscal crime similar as advance figure fraud( other wise known as 419) plutocrat laundering, fraudulent terfeity, illegal charge transfer, request fraud, fraudulent diversion of fund, computer credit card fraud, contract checkup, phony of fiscal instrument, allocation of bounded check, etc.

ii. Relinquishment of measures to annihilate and help the commission co-operate group or individual involved.

iii. Relinquishment of measures to identify, trace, indurate, expropriate or seize proceeds deduced from terrorist conditioning, profitable and fiscal crime related offences or parcels.

iv. The collection of all reports relating to suspicious fiscal sale, dissect and circulate to all applicability government agencies which maintain liaison with office of the Attorney- General of confederationi.e Nigeria custom service, immigration and captivity service board, Nigeria deposit insurance co-operation, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency( NDLEA) etc, in other to annihilate crime in public sector.

Description Of Problem

Despite the relinquishment of EFCC, public sectors have being passing a lot of profitable and fiscal problems. They include;

a. The major problem that imposes the enforcement of profitable crimesi.e the influence of corruption that took over the control of the Nation. All the while, since our independence in 1960 and further especially from 1985 to 2003, corruption come manifestly rooted and institutionalized into ourpolitics.It ruled our lives as it was the major considaration in the governance in our affairs as Nation. There was and came no need for due process but the loftiest endeavor on bribery and corruption. The rule of law thus gave way to the selfish rule of man. While the rest of the world progressed, we headed back to the hobbersion state. Fraudsters and culprits took advantage of the situation and the problem came where to apply, how to apply and on whom to apply the profitable and fiscal laws.

b. Another problem is the failure of law enforcement agencies. moment we’ve over 500,000 law enforcement labor force working in our colorful enforcement agencies in Nigeria. Nigeria spends on normal of N on the law enforcement agencies including the bar annually. either, we’ve about 43,953 attorneys called to bar, 707 high court and shariah court judges, 47 civil high court of judges, 46 court of appeal justice, and 15 justice of the supreme court of Nigeria. There are still men and women, in short, thousands of them begin called to bar annually. But all these agencies has done little or nothing in precluding crimes.

c. Another problem facing profitable and fiscal crime commission in crime control is that the probing units working on profitable crimes aren’t dealing with veritably complex areas of the law, both felonious and civil. On the felonious side which is the most area of focus, understanding and secerning among similar generalities as embezzlement, robbery by tricks, and carrying times of value by false pretenses have played generation of law scholars and indeed some attorneys let alone the enforcement agents. Some countries have tried to simplify this area of their law of incorporating these offenses into an offence of theft but court continues to have problems with the interpretation of those crimes. Eventually, statues defining different kinds of fraud have come numerous, varied and complicated. For case, profitable crimes have five factors as follows

i. A unlawful intent.

ii. Disguise of purpose.

iii. Reliance on victim’s ignorance and neglectfulness.

iv. Voluntary victim- operation.

Concealment of the violation.

. Objects Of The Study

The objects of this exploration study are as follows

To determine the effectiveness and credibility of profitable and fiscal crime commission and its donation to public sector responsibility.

ii. To review the constraint of profitable and fiscal crime commission through determined disquisition and enforcement or applicable laws.

iii. To determine the part of rule of law in the control of profitable and fiscal crime in our public sectors.

iv. To determine what the law enforcement agencies should do to reduce profitable and fiscal crimes. That is, what other enforcement agents should do to prop profitable and fiscal crime commission in crime control.

To determine the areas of law that will help the probing unit and other enforcement agents in their disquisition.

vi. To examine the backing of profitable and fiscal crime commission and its effectiveness.