Nigeria anti-graft agency says has uncovered 3 criminal syndicates extorting money from people under investigation for corruption
DAKAR (TrustLaw) – Nigeria’s anti-graft agency has uncovered three criminal syndicates specialised in extorting money from people who are under investigation for corruption, the agency said in a statement.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said it has arrested some members of these syndicates and two suspects were paraded at a news conference in Abuja on Tuesday.
One of the suspects succeeded in extorting $313,479 from a person being prosecuted by the EFCC for a pension scam, the anti-corruption agency said.
As part of the subterfuge, the man claimed on different occasions to be a relative of the late Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and the country’s current vice-President Namadi Sambo.
“The criminally minded syndicates are reinforced by the recent high-profile cases being handled by the commission,” the EFCC said in the statement.
Only this month the EFCC arrested three former state governors for allegedly embezzling funds amounting to $615 million.
Analysts say that, although the agency has made several high-profile arrests before and there have been no convictions yet, many politicians are still concerned about the investigations to the point of falling prey to conmen who promise to release them from the clutches of the EFCC.
The second suspect who was presented to the press had claimed that he was an official of the EFCC in order extort money from young people, promising them a job at the agency.
Nigeria is Africa’s biggest oil exporter but the majority of the population has not benefited from this wealth due to pervasive corruption and bad governance.
Authorities in the West African nation have over the past decade attempted to combat corruption by passing legislation and setting up agencies such as the EFCC.
(Editing by Rebekah Curtis)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
