Nigerian government in the fight against corruption. In the recent past EFCC under the chairmanship of Abdulrasheed Bawa has arrested dozens of cyber criminals and paraded in Nigeria, and is a step in a good direction. Even at that , these evil elements keep penetrating their evil enterprise and it is not in the interest of our country .
It is no longer news that Nigerian government has lost billions of naira and dollars in the past few years to fraud, corruption and Cyber Crimes, until the government treasury was threatened and citizens left to their fate.
It is a statement of fact that as worrisome as it is to hear that our nation Nigeria is rated among countries with battling fraud prevention records in the world, it is even more worrisome to know that despite the federal government renewed efforts in tackling fraud, corruption and cyber crimes, not much results has been achieved, especially in the area of securing conviction against perpetrators of fraud in Nigeria.
This is because many of the cases, especially the high profile ones, are either thrown out for want of evidence or are unnecessarily delayed and stocked in court for years, due to one reason or the other.
It is also a statement of fact that Nigeria has been bedevilled with the fire of fraud, corruption, bribery, money laundering, white collar crimes and cyber crimes inspite of government efforts, which have for long affecteded our economy and dwarfed development.
It has been shown by empirical research and legal pronouncements that these social vices that led to the collapse and failure of many companies were aided and abetted by invidious and insidious accounting practices.
According to the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBBS) reported in the Nigerian Newspaper of June, 2018 that Nigerian banks lost N12.30 billions to fraud in the past four years.
According to the Managing Director of NIBBS recorded fraud volume in Nigeria banks increased from N1.461 billion in 2014 to staggering N23.043 cases on 201. Research has also shown that in 2020 and 2021 Nigeria lost N19.2 billion to fraud. This is worrisome that in our very eyes a country that belong to all should just leap, even when the solution is here already. God forbid.
Government at all levels is losing billions of Naira to fraud, corruption and cyber crimes partly due to lack of forensic investigators.
According to Femi Falana, prosecution of financial fraud in Nigeria hampered partly by lack of experienced investigators and prosecutors, and where they exist, they are overwhelmed.
We need not to mention here that government agencies and multinational corporations spend huge sums out of scare foreign exchange to retain expatriates forensic and investigative professionals to come and unravel complex cases of fraud in Nigeria.
Nigeria is very rich in resources of all kinds (human and natural resources), unfortunately it is rated as one of the less developed or third ward countries, because of the level of corruption and corrupt practices.
There was no efficient mechanism for fraud detection and control in Nigeria as well as gross shortage of trained experts in fraud detection and prevention prior to the emergence of the CHARTRERED INSTITIUTE OF FORENSIC AND INVESTIGATIVE PROFESSIONALS OF NIGERIA.
The issue of corruption with regards to Nigeria is hydra headed. By this, I mean it is multifaceted and takes various dimensions which seems too sophisticated to be the prerogative of any particular person or persons to handle.
The fight against corruption must be holistic if we are indeed serious. The level of corruption in the Nigeria which has decimated our country over the years, reduced it to what it is today, is unbearable by the citizen and they seems helpless because it has become a way of life in Nigeria, and whoever that fails to go same way will be considered a bad person. YES, it is that bad, and no sector is left out of this.
Nigeria very urgently need forensic investigation techniques to salvage what is left of the economy; that is the reason for the establishment of Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Auditors of Nigeria is a welcomed development.
Dr.( Mrs ) Enape Victoria Ayishetu,PhD,FCFP,FCNA,FCTI,FCFA,FCPA CFE,MNIM,CPFA
Protem President, Chartered Institute of Forensic Investigative Professionals of Nigeria (CIFIPN)
