By: Kingsley Omonobi

The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has called for the tracking of terrorism funding in Nigeria, saying it is one of the non-kinetic means of fighting terrorism across the globe.

General Musa made the call when he played host to the Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ola Olukoyede, in his office at the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) in Abuja. 

While congratulating him on his appointment as the EFCC boss, the CDS gave an assurance that the Armed Forces of Nigeria will not derail from its commitment to ensure the survival of the current democratic dispensation. 

He commended the EFCC Chairman for his unique approach of leveraging the potential of technology to fight corruption and other forms of economic crime. 

He noted that the AFN has zero tolerance for corrupt practices, and as such, it adopts the proceedings of a General Court Martial (GCM) to checkmate culpable personnel. 

General Musa urged the EFCC boss to encourage public office holders and other Nigerians in positions of authority to uphold good governance to forestall economic breakdown and insecurity. 

The CDS further informed the Chairman of the Anti-Graft body that AFN synergizes with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and other stakeholders to fight oil theft in the country.

He lamented that the issues of blocking loopholes brought about by the syphoning of oil and soft legal system, which delays the prosecution of suspects, have been major challenges.

He harped on the use of census, installation of CCTV cameras at strategic points to contain cases of corruption, terrorism, and other forms of insecurity in the country. 

He encouraged Mr Olukoyede to keep up his good work and remain assured of the support and cooperation of the AFN. 

Earlier in his remarks at the visit, the EFCC Chairman stated that he was at the DHQ to explore avenues of cooperation and collaboration in the ongoing fight against corruption in the country. 

Mr Olukoyede recalled that, on assumption of office, he laid so much emphasis on the need for Nigerians to imbibe the spirit of collaboration, which is a key to winning the war against corruption. 

He pointed out that the war against corruption must be won as the menace has destroyed the nation’s economy and at the same time dented its good image. 

He strongly warned that if drastic measures are not taken to nip it in the bud, the country will be put in jeopardy in the next 10 years. 

As a means to mitigate the menace caused by corruption and insecurity, the Chairman posited that cognitive responsibility has to be embraced by the military and other security agencies, adding that the war against corruption should be seen as everybody’s business.

Furthermore, he said the EFCC, military, and other security agencies have to join forces in fighting corruption.

He revealed that the Commission recorded salient achievements in the course of fighting economic crimes within the space of time he has been in office.

Prominent among these, he stated, is the recovery of funds running into billions and trillions of naira carted away from the nation’s treasury. 

Also, he disclosed that a lot of lessons were learned in the course of fighting corruption in the country. 

According to him, irregularities associated with cutting corners in the process of awarding contracts and procurements and a bad system of governance were uncovered. 

The helmsman of EFCC therefore solicited the support and cooperation of the AFN to enable EFCC to continue to carry out its statutory duties.