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The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commissions, EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa on Wednesday charged Nigerians to be vigilant and play their part in checking the illicit flow of the nation’s resources out of the country.

He gave the charge in his office while receiving a report on illicit financial flows from a coalition of Nigerian Civil Society Organizations led by the Human and Environmental Development Agenda, HEDA.

“It is one thing for properties to be taken to the UAE and the UK, it is another thing that we here in Nigeria are ensuring that nobody has the opportunity to take them out in the first instance. That is why we want to be proactive in our approach to law enforcement and the fight against corruption in this country”

“And then of course part of our mandate to ensure that proceeds of crime are identified and repatriated for the benefit of all Nigerians”

Bawa further explain that It is not an easy task, it is something that cut across jurisdictions. UK, UAE have their own laws, processes and procedures, adding that the commission has a lot of bilateral and multilateral agreements that it is signatories to; to discuss issues of information sharing, investigation as well as repatriation of ill-gotten assets.

Chairman, HEDA, Olanrewaju Suraj who spoke on behalf of the Coalition, said they were in the EFCC headquarters to formally present a report on ‘Fixing Nigeria’s Illicit Financial Flows’, compiled by Professor Gbenga Oduntan of Kent University, in support of the anti-corruption mandate of the EFCC.

According to Suraj, HEDA is motivated to stop the flow of funds out of Nigeria” that the three hundred and sixteen-page report is part of the group’s contribution to your clear determination to go after suspicious assets.