EFCC reopens subsidy fraud cases

There are indications that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is revisiting investigations into the fuel subsidy fraud cases which it abandoned since 2012.

It was learnt on Sunday that the EFCC authorities decided to step up the investigation at the twilight of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration whose disposition towards the subsidy fraud and other corruption cases, sources said, did not encourage the prosecution of the suspects.

It was gathered that in the last two weeks, the EFCC had been inviting some of the fuel subsidy suspects, who were indicted in the 2012 Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede-led Presidential Committee on Verification and Reconciliation of subsidy claims.

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who did not want to be named, said one of the suspects, whose friend was also indicted in the Aig-Imoukhuede-led committee’s report, had already briefed him last week in anticipation that he would be invited soon by the EFCC.

According to the lawyer, the client’s friend has already been invited by the EFCC, adding that it is only a matter of time before he (the client) will also be invited by the anti-graft agency.

...Punch