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• As CDD tells African leaders to join forces to recover illicit funds
From Okwe Obi, Abuja
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has lamented the involvement of youths in cybercrimes, stating that even those caught were not remorseful.
Acting Executive Chairman of EFCC, Abdulkarim Chukkol, spoke at the 2023 African Union Anti-Corruption Day, yesterday in Abuja.
He wondered what becomes of the African continent when the youths who are referred to as future leaders are enmeshed in criminality of uncommon dimension.
Chukkol said: “For us in the EFCC, we are concerned at the involvement of the youth in economic and financial crimes, especially cybercrime.
“A critical look at our secondary and tertiary institutions reveals an extreme situation of moral decay with a generation of young Nigerians now hostage to Cybercrime.
“When the so-called future leaders are themselves enmeshed in criminality of uncommon dimension, it is difficult to imagine what the future holds for Africa.
More disconcerting is the fact that those who have been caught in the web are remorseless.”
Meanwhile, the Director of Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Idayat Hassan, advised African leaders to deepen bilateral relationship to stop financial haemorrhage and recover illicit assets taken from the continent.
Represented by CDD’s Research Analyst, Afolabi Adekaiyaoja, Hassan said: “It is, therefore, necessary and urgent for African states to, individually and collectively, halt the financial haemorrhage and engage in bilateral and multilateral arrangements to recover illicit assets taken from the continent.
“This will require African states to persistently push, using all available international cooperation arrangements, on a global stage while also ensuring that their domestic anti-corruption authorities initiate steps to track, trace and freeze these assets in countries where they have been deposited.
“Nigeria has, for example, made considerable progress in tracking and recovering stolen assets through improved international cooperation.”
