On convictions of elements who have committed economic and financial crimes, the Chairman of Economic and Financial Commission Abdulrasheed Bawa said that from January to November 16, 2021 the anti-graft agency recorded an unprecedented 1,576 convictions.

The chairman said: “We are changing the narrative here, because I will also want to report that 122 were discharged and acquitted. Now, compare that with the success that we have recorded in terms of convictions. It shows that we lost less than 10 percent of our cases”.

Bawa also vowed to pursue all ongoing corruption cases to a logical conclusion no matter who is involved and send a strong message to corrupt elements in the country, disclosing that no fewer than 1499 persons had already been convicted.

The chairman said: “The corruption cases are going on well. I am happy to inform you that as at the last count, which is the fourth of November, within the year under review, we recorded 1,499 convictions, which is unprecedented in the history of the Commission.

“The highest number of convictions that the Commission secured previously was 1,282 or thereabout. So, we have beaten that record. I have said it time and again that no agency of government has contributed to the development of law in Nigeria in the last ten years than the EFCC. We are all over the place trying to see that we eradicate economic and financial crime through prosecution.

So that is the record and the evidence is there. We are not setting out to be engaging with people on the pages of newspapers or press conferences. We are working hard trying to see what we can do behind the scenes to eradicate corruption.