The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ola Olukoyede has charged youths in the country to join hands with the EFCC in combating corruption, economic and financial crimes.
He gave this charge few days ago while addressing the students of the National Open University of Nigeria, NOUN, Abuja center, who came on an excursion and study tour of the Commission’s headquarters.
The EFCC boss who spoke through the Deputy Commander of EFCC, DCE Nwanyinma Okeanu, regretted that corruption, economic and financial crimes have eaten deep into the fabrics of the society and warned young Nigerians not to be caught in its web.
“I want you to take the bull by the horn and join the fight against corruption in Nigeria. As you go home, spread the message to your schoolmates, your parents and everyone you know and together we can save our nation from being destroyed by corruption,” he said.
The Head of Public Interface, ACE I Tony Orilade, took the visitors through the organogram and functions of the EFCC, explaining to them some terms associated with the Commission and ways to identify and combat economic and financial crimes when they see one.
“At every stage of the society, we are there to sensitise the public on our preventive mandate so that you don’t fall victim. There are very serious crimes that a lot of you don’t know about, and we must tell you to desist from them so that you are not caught. Mind the friends you keep. On no account should you as an individual get involved with people whose identities you don’t know. Verify before you engage because the picture on a person’s profile on the internet may be different from the real person,” he said.
ACE I Evelyn Achudume of the EFCC ICT Unit spoke on the role of Information Technology in the fight against corruption and how to be safe online. She took the students through some of the crimes that take place on the internet. She disclosed that global cyber attacks lead to financial loss of $8trillion per year. This, she said, ranged from ransomware, phishing, DDOS attacks, hacking activities, malware, and social engineering, among others. She advised that youths should rather use the social media space to their advantage by equipping themselves with the social media tools necessary to navigate the space and make a living on the internet, noting that cyberspace provides endless opportunities.
She enjoined the students to be abreast of the developments in the world of Information Technology, pointing out that several emerging innovations across the world could help people tackle and prevent fraudulent practices that are aimed at them.
Also speaking, the Head of Enlightenment and Reorientation, ACE II, Aisha Mohammed, who educated the students on the work of the Commission, noted that the Commission was open to collaboration with all stakeholders and segments of the society, especially youths.
“EFCC does not arrest people alone, we go out to sensitise people too because our mandate is to prevent, investigate and prosecute. We explore all the publicity mediums to reach out to the public, including radio, TV, X, Instagram and every medium available to reach out to everyone, including phone lines for those who want to speak with us directly. We have lots of programmes for children, youths, adults, Christians and Muslims. We also want to catch them young. So I need you to be our foot soldiers by telling your friends and family to make sure everyone is involved. The fight is not for one person; let’s do it together. Little by little, we can make a difference. You are the future of this country,” she said.
The students appreciated the EFCC for mentoring and hosting them and promised to spread the anti-corruption messages of the Commission at school, home and at community level.
