EFCC staff disappears after stealing over $30,000 from exhibit room in Kaduna

 

 

EFCC staff disappears after stealing over $30,000 from exhibit room in Kaduna

 

 

 

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) finds itself mired in controversy once again after a staff member of its Kaduna Zonal Office allegedly disappeared with over $30,000 from the office’s exhibit room.

 

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Sources within the agency disclosed that the officer, identified simply as Polycarp, fled after the zonal director, Benedict Ubi, ordered an audit of the exhibit room.

 

The audit was initiated in the wake of an internal scandal in Lagos, where 10 EFCC officers were detained over theft of items, including gold bars worth over ₦1 billion, $180,000, and £140,000.

 

According to insiders, Polycarp used the pretext of needing to step out and vanished. Efforts to contact him were unsuccessful, as all his phone lines were switched off.

 

“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” one source stated. “The initial audit only uncovered discrepancies in the foreign currency records. A more thorough review might reveal additional losses.”

 

Recurring Scandals

 

This is not the first time the EFCC has been tainted by internal corruption. In 2019, an officer was accused of accepting a $20,000 bribe from a businessman at Lagos’ Murtala Mohammed International Airport. Despite his confession, the officer was reinstated under the then-acting chairman, Ibrahim Magu, and the matter was kept under wraps.

 

In another case, a staff member was dismissed in 2021 after an audio recording revealed him advising suspects on how to unfreeze accounts and drop charges. The commission’s spokesperson at the time described the officer as a “corrupt fifth columnist” whose actions were “contemptuous” of EFCC’s values.

 

More recently, on January 6, the EFCC announced the dismissal of 27 officers for fraudulent activities and misconduct. However, insiders claimed the figure represented cumulative dismissals since the agency’s inception in 2003, rather than a recent purge.

 

Ongoing Investigation

 

The EFCC has launched a manhunt to track down Polycarp. Attempts to obtain a comment from EFCC spokesman Dele Oyewale were unsuccessful, as he neither answered calls nor replied to messages.

 

This latest scandal raises further questions about the EFCC’s internal controls and the integrity of its personnel, even as the agency continues its fight against corruption in Nigeria.