The chairman of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Financial Crimes, Hon. Kayode Oladele, has revealed the staggering amount the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has recovered from looters in 6 months. He said the EFCC has recovered the sum of $3.1billion, which is over N600 billion, in less than six months.
While speaking to journalists in Abuja, the lawmaker further revealed that the public need to understand that not all recovered property, cash or any other asset by the anti-graft agency are immediately forfeited to the government’s coffers as they remain exhibits until when a judicial pronouncement is made by the court.
“People just bring up questions to discredit and to reduce the credibility of the agency. So far, with an agency collecting $3.1 billion in less than six months, people should really give them a lot of accolades.
"When you talk of money being remitted to the national treasury, it is something you have to look at very well in a different perspective because when you collect money and unless somebody voluntarily says ‘this money is stolen’ and he is really giving it up, any money collected by EFCC, unless there is voluntary admission of guilt, is still regarded as an exhibit for the purpose of conviction.
“So, EFCC cannot just collect money and begin to pay into national treasury. What if at the end of the day the person from whose hand they collected the money is acquitted? Who will pay back the money?” he added.
Oladele, however, said the agency operates a Recovery Account where the recovered funds are deposited to yield compound interest, noting that an accused will get his money back with accumulated interest in the event he or she is not convicted.
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