Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, Mr Osita Chidoka has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to collaborate with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, in ridding the nation’s airports of low level corruption
He made the call on Thursday at the Anti- Corruption Sensitization Programme organized for staff of FAAN by the EFCC. According to him, corruption among airports’ low-cadre operators was pervasive and should be checked. “What we need to fight is low level corruption in airports. If we reduce low level corruption in the system, we will improve on the perception of people about our airports”, he said.
He commended the EFCC in the pursuit of its preventive mandate and charged it to work more closely with FAAN and other aviation agencies in enlightening workers on the need to shun corrupt practices.
In his remarks, Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde charged staff of FAAN, drawn from all parts of Nigeria, to embrace the values of integrity and transparency in the discharge of their duties.
According to him, the education and sensitization campaign is designed for employees of public and private institutions, to encourage them have a buy-in into the anti-graft mandate of the EFCC. Lamorde, who was represented by the Deputy Director, Public Affairs, Mr. Osita Nwajah, proposed the establishment of an Integrity Unit in FAAN, to be “the rallying point for the promotion of transparency and accountability in FAAN, towards the achievement of the mandate of the Authority and to the greater service and glory of our fatherland”.
Several presentations were made in the course of the enlightenment programme. One of them, EFCC And Its Prevention Activities, was presented by Head, Enlightenment and Re-Orientation Unit of the EFCC, Aisha Larai Musa.
..EFCC Arraigns Fake Oil Traders for N13m Scam
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) today arraigned the duo of Muhammed Abubakar Alfa and Franklin Uche before Justice Dije Aboki of Kano High Court on a 39-count charge bordering on conspiracy, possession of fake document and obtaining by false pretence.
The accused persons allegedly defrauded one Ambassador Abdullah Musa, a Libyan, of the sum of N13, 000,000.00 (thirteen million Naira).
The duo were said to have met their victim through one of his Nigerian business associates, a certain Muktar Ahmed, and sold to him, via telephone, a proposal to supply him crude oil from Nigeria. The unsuspecting Ambassador received an invitation letter to come to Nigeria to close the deal. During the visit, the accused persons allegedly presented the victim with documents sourced from relevant agencies. Impressed, Musa invited the 1st accused (Muhammed Alfa) to his base in Tunisia, where another round of meeting was held. Consequently, the deal was sealed. Thereafter, the sum of N13, 000,000.00 (thirteen million Naira) was paid into Muhammed Abubakar Alfa’s account domiciled in one of the old generation banks in Nigeria.
After waiting for months without receiving any crude oil from the accused persons, it became obvious that he had been duped.
One of the counts in the charge reads, “ that you Muhammed Abubakar Alfa and Franklin Uche on or about 5th day of November, 2012 in Kano within the judicial Division of the High Court of Justice of Kano State with intent to defraud did invite Abdullah Musa Hamd Bashir to visit Nigeria for the purpose of alleged crude oil business which resulted into obtaining the sum of N13,000,000.00 ( thirteen million Naira) under false pretence from him through his agent one Muktar Ahmed Muhammed and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 4 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006”.
The accused persons pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to them. Attempt by counsel to the 2nd accused, John Nwoke to present an oral bail application for his client was refused by the trial judge, who remanded the accused persons in prison custody.
