The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has said that Nigeria had illegal financial outflows of $217.7bn in 38 years.
This was revealed by the Ag. Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu on Wednesday in Abuja.
It was during a one-day conference organized by Online Publishers Association of Nigeria with the theme: “Free press and objective reporting in the 2019 election year.”
According to Magu who was represented by the commission’s Acting Spokesman, Tony Orilade, the money left the country between 1970 and 2008
“The alarming rate of corruption committed by these unpatriotic elements can be partly seen in the number of convictions secured by the EFCC from Nigerian courts since I assumed duty as the head of the commission in 2015,” Magu said.
“The figure stands at 103 in 2015, 195 in 2016, 189 in 2017 and 312 for the period of January to December 2018.
“The total figure for the period of 2015 to 2018 is a mind-blowing 799 convictions. In the process of such convictions, the EFCC recovered N794.5bn, $261m, £1.1m, €8.1m and CFA86, 500.
“One of the most graphic ways through which the absence of democratic accountability manifests itself in Nigeria today is through the prevalence of rampant corruption at all levels of governance.
“For example, Transparency International reported that Nigeria was the most corrupt country in the world for years: 1996, 1997, 2000 and second in the line for remaining years up to 2003.
“In February 2015, a high-level panel on illicit financial flows from Africa constituted by the African Union, under the chairmanship of a former President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, revealed that Nigeria ranked first among ten African countries by cumulative illicit financial flows between 1970 and 2008.
“The total outflow from Nigeria for the period was $217.7bn constituting about 30.5 per cent of Africa’s total share.”
