TheCable

Ibrahim Magu, acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has promised not to relent in his bid “to break the chain of corruption”.

Calling on Nigerians to join the campaign, the anti-corruption czar said he would undertake institutional reforms to increase EFCC’s capacity to fight corruption.

He also promised to do his best to recover public funds allegedly stolen under the guise of arms procurement, saying “all the culprits” in the arms procurement scandal would be brought to justice.

He was speaking on Wednesday  at the commemoration of the international anti-corruption day.

“Corruption is like a chain whose effect impacts various aspects of the society, undermines democracy and the rule of law, distorts markets, erodes quality of life, leads to human rights violations and fans the embers of terrorism and other threats to human security,” Wilson Uwujaren, spokesman of the EFCC, quoted him as saying.

Magu said within 2015 alone, the commission had investigated a total of 1,881 cases.

“Out of this figure, 280 cases were filed in courts and 78 convictions were secured,” he said.

“In this period also, eight interim and two final forfeiture orders were handed down by various courts on applications brought by the commission.”

He added that he had put in place machinery to sanitise the commission internally and expressed gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari for creating an enabling environment for the commission to carry out its mandate.

Magu appealed for cooperation  in the anti-corruption fight.

“Our common resolve is far stronger than the challenges we face in the fight against corruption,” he said.

“I call on you to embrace the EFCC’s public enlightenment campaigns, the activities of our Zero Tolerance Clubs in tertiary institutions and our inter-faith initiatives because in this effort to break the corruption chain, no man is an island and only when we work together can we make a difference.”