Mohammed Kari, Commissioner for Insurance, National Insurance Commission of Nigeria, NAICOM, on September 14, 2017 engaged with Ibrahim Magu, acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on fashioning strategies to combat fraud in the Insurance Sector.
“As a regulator, we do not have powers to prosecute offenders, but we can only report suspicious activities to the EFCC,” he said.
Kari, who led a team to the EFCC Headquarters on a visit, noted that there was an urgent need for the anti-graft agency to beam its searchlight on the sector, in order “to consolidate on the gains achieved”.
“We need your partnership in the areas of investigation, prosecution and calling erring operators to order, in line with the relevant laws,” he added.
He further explained that NAICOM had received inquiries on some persons and companies from the EFCC, which were being acted upon.
In his response, Magu intimated the NAICOM team, that an Insurance Fraud Unit, was in existence in the EFCC, in realisation of the increasing cases of fraud being perpetrated in the insurance sector. According to him, the EFCC needs the assistance of NAICOM to help its operatives further understand the insurance industry.
He further stressed that both organizations were working to achieve same purpose of sanitizing the sector, and described the tasks ahead as “very tough and challenging”.
“We have come a long way and will continue together to fight the corruption menace,” he said, and stressed the need to sensitize the public about insurance-related fraud.
