EFCC boss blames crime, militancy on corruption - Vanguard News

By Oscarline Onwuemenyi

ABUJA ? The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mrs. Farida Waziri, has blamed the wanton corruption in the country for driving many young people into violent crimes including militancy and? terrorism.

Waziri, who stated this on Tuesday at the 8th anniversary of the anti-corruption agency and launch of the Economic and Financial Crimes Law Reports, in Abuja, noted that the fight against corruption in the country had been very tough,

The EFCC boss came short of calling for a complete revolution in the country, saying, ?Nigerians should come out like what happened in Egypt; there should be some form of revolution to retrieve this country from the grasp of corruption.?

She noted that, ?I believe these bomb blasts, kidnappings and killings we see around us are as a result of corruption in the country. The gap between the rich and the poor is getting wider and people are angry and disillusioned.

?The people involved in these acts feel short-changed by the people in leadership and they are frustrated by the system; they see so much injustice in the midst of plenty.?

She added that, ?The various cases of militancy and terrorism that we currently experience across the country are as a result of corruption. People who perpetrate these violent acts tend to draw their motivation from the unimaginable corruption they see going on around them.?

The EFCC Chairman added that, ?We are talking about the dilapidated aviation sector and epileptic power supply in the country, but nothing can be done about these as long there is massive corruption. These poor services abound as a direct consequence of corruption in public and private offices.?

?Billions of naira that are amassed by people in positions of authority could have gone into the development of needed infrastructure for the growth and development of this country.

?The corrupt people in our society take billions of naira that should have been used to develop infrastructure and create jobs, and they take them abroad to other countries to contribute to those already developed societies where as our youths and elderly languish in penury and want.?

Waziri lamented that acts of corruption such as Advanced Fee Fraud and cyber crime has cost the country a lot of goodwill in the international business arena, leading to investors shying away from the country.

She said, ?Today, when you travel outside the country, you are looked upon as a crook, and we know that is not the case; we have a lot of hardworking, honest and reputable people doing business in our country and we aim by this publication to direct genuine business people to the right places they should if they want to do business in Nigeria or with Nigerians.

?People who are interested in doing business in the country can also contact us and we can do due diligence on the companies they are interested in and properly advise them.

?We need support and cooperation of all Nigerians in order to wrestle this country out of the clutches of endemic corruption,? Waziri added.

Speaking in a keynote address at the launch, a Justice of the Supreme Court, Hon. Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, noted that the EFCC has performed remarkably well despite the relatively harsh operating terrain.

According to her, ?The EFCC has grown to become the premier anti-corruption agency in Africa and indeed the level of recoveries it has made is arguably unparalleled in the history of any agency in the world.?

She added that, ?The Commission has assumed a larger than life status and has grown to be perceived in the eyes of Nigerians as a solver of all problems. No time in the history of Nigeria has so much been demanded from a single institution or agency of government like the expectations from the EFCC.?

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Source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/06/efcc-boss-blames-crime-militancy-on-corruption/

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