By Marie-Therese Nanlong & Gilbert Joseph

Jos – A University of Jos Don, Professor Yohanna Jugu has described institutional weakness and failure as cankerworms undermining the fight against corruption, cyber and electronic fraud, bribery and embezzlement in Nigeria.

The Professor of Forensic Science and Auditing said manual falsification of records have evolved into digital manipulations in today’s world, adding that digital ecosystems have enabled greater efficiency but also expanded the attack sources for fraudsters.

He made these submissions at the 114th Inaugural Lecture of the University of Jos on the topic, “Unmasking Fraud and Fraudulent Practices: The Evolving Role of Forensic Accounting and Auditing in a Complex World “, noting that fraud has existed since the beginning of commerce about 7,000 BC, where people take undue advantage to make profit.

Professor Jugu stated that, “This lecture touches on the fabric of governance, accountability and economic sustainability in our society. Fraud is a timeless and evolving threat that needs to be unmasked for everyone to see. There are increasing expectations placed on traditional accountants and auditors to do something about the growing threats of this monster.”

He berated the high level of corruption in the private and public sectors of the country which have led to a significant loss of trust among citizens.

In his considered view, “Nigeria faces structural and institutional challenges that make it more vulnerable to fraud and financial mismanagement. In the public sector, there’s a high level of corruption and corporate governance failure, this exists in the private sector but it is much more in the public sector where weak internal controls undermine economic growth and public trust.

“It is important to strengthen governance frameworks and robust internal controls which are necessary to address this challenge. With the evolving nature of fraud and public sector corruption, Nigeria must be vigilant and keep pace with advanced fraud techniques, I said we must do this to tackle public sector corruption.”

He listed the common forms of fraud to include: financial statement fraud, asset misappropriation, bribery and corruption, cyber and electronics fraud, procurement and contract fraud, money laundering and illicit financial flows.

He added, “All these could involve intentional collusion, and it could cause severe capital market consequences. The type of fraud under this category is revenue inflation where some sales figures that do not exist are added. Sometimes these are things that are done in cahoots with accountants and management of public offices and organizations.”