A staff member of Nigeria’s EFCC has allegedly stolen $30,000 from the exhibit room in the Kaduna office, prompting a manhunt. The suspect, identified as Polycarp, fled during an audit. This incident adds to previous corruption scandals within the anti-graft agency, raising concerns about internal accountability.
An officer of Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at the Kaduna Zonal Office is under investigation for allegedly stealing $30,000 from the agency's exhibit room. The officer, identified as Polycarp, reportedly vanished after an audit of the exhibit room was announced by Zonal Director Benedict Ubi.
According to insiders, the suspect excused himself to "ease" and fled, switching off all contact lines. This discovery follows a similar scandal in Lagos, where EFCC officers were implicated in the theft of gold bars and large sums of foreign currency. Preliminary findings suggest additional misappropriations may surface after a thorough audit of the exhibit room.
The EFCC has launched a manhunt for the fleeing officer, aiming to uncover his whereabouts and the extent of the theft. This incident adds to a series of internal corruption cases in the anti-graft agency. In 2021, an EFCC officer was dismissed for coaching suspects on evading charges, while in 2019, another officer was accused of accepting a $20,000 bribe at Lagos Airport.
The EFCC recently announced the dismissal of 27 staff members since its inception in 2003 for various corrupt practices. Calls to EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale for comments have gone unanswered. This latest scandal raises further concerns about integrity within Nigeria’s foremost anti-corruption body.
