EFCC Press Release
Chairman, Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Lamorde has called on members of the
public to be cautious of the modus
operandi of fraudsters in order not to fall victim of their antics.
Lamorde made the appeal on
Monday, March 23, 2015 while presenting “Red Alert on Scam”, a special
publication of the EFCC, to the press in his office.
“Red Alert on Scam” is an
initiative of Media and Publicity Unit of the Commission, conceived as an
enlightenment publication to educate members of the public on the antics of
fraudsters, with a view to helping them avoid falling victims of fraud.
Lamorde who expressed
concern over the rate in which vulnerable members of the public especially
youths fall victim of all manners of fraud said, “many of our youths, desperate
to get employment have fallen into the hands of fraudsters who dupe them of the
little cash at their disposal”.
According
to him, “many agencies of government are targeted by syndicates of fraudsters
who send out false notices of recruitment and go ahead to demand fees from
unsuspecting members of the public to process their applications”.
“Another
dimension to the scam is for the fraudsters to create a website, purporting to
be a portal for employment processing. Such would include a phone number, which
the job seeker is told to call. As soon as the job-seekers calls, the fraudster
begins to make financial demands, requesting the caller to deposit money in a
particular bank account”, said Lamorde.
The
EFCC boss warned prospective job seekers to be wary of people who offer to get
them jobs and always endeavour to verify information by contacting the agencies
concerned.
While proffering solution to
the menace, Lamorde called on members of the public to be cautious of giving
out their bank details and jealously guard their email passwords/accounts. He
also urged them to report any site making any financial demand in return for
securing employment to the Commission or any law enforcement agency.
The anti-graft czar also used the opportunity
to further warn politicians not to drag the Commission into political fray in
their bid to garner political support ahead of the nation’s general elections.
Lamorde’s comment comes on
the heels of comments by some politicians in the last few weeks, imputing
political motives to the activities the Commission.
Specifically, he noted with concern the
circulation of a fake letter purportedly from the office of the Chief of Staff
to the President directing the Commission to investigate some political figures
which, according to him, was unfounded and unfortunate.
The EFCC Chair also described as rumour, news
that made the rounds over the weekend that, the Commission is planning to
arrest leaders of a political party as well as a fake letter in circulation
claiming that the EFCC is investigating a former education minister.
“I like to sound a note of warning here that
the Commission will no longer tolerate people dropping its name to further
their political ends. The EFCC is not a political body and will not allow
itself to be dragged into political fray by desperate politicians”, Lamorde
warned.
According
to him, “the EFCC does not need the prompting of anybody to open investigation
against anyone that has violated the law. But it does the nation no good when
politicians seek to use the name of the Commission to further their political
objectives”.
Responding to a question on
politicians who have cases to answer but still get involved in the election
process, the Chairman opined that our laws needed to be amended in a way that
would presume suspects guilty until proven otherwise.
According
to him, when this is done, suspects would have to be acquitted of the charges
against them before being appointed in to positions of authorities.
The EFCC boss also cleared the air on the
status of the investigation into the polymer note scam for which Charles
Soludo, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, was questioned by the
agency. He said Soludo was cleared as no wrong doing was established against
him by the investigation.
WilsonUwujaren
Head Media &
Publicity
23rd March,
2015
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