EFCC Arrests Those Allegedly Spoiling Naira, Launches Taskforce to Track Dollar Racketeers
- The EFCC has established a 7,000-person special task force to track dollar racketeers in the country
- Those affected include all private universities and other tertiary institutions that charge dollars and other foreign currencies
- The move became necessary as efforts by the CBN to ensure liquidity in the system yielded no significant result
Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over three years of experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.
To relieve pressure on the naira, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has assembled a 7,000-person special task force to operate across its 14 zonal commands, targeting individuals involved in illegal dollar transactions.
Source: UGC
The anti-graft agency's spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, made this known in a statement on Wednesday, February 7, in Abuja.
He said the committee invited the owners of private colleges and other institutions that collect tuition in dollars.
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This followed failure of multiple polices aimed at revamping the naira's struggles against the dollar.
The value of the Nigerian naira recently fell from roughly N900 to almost N1,500 dollars in the official market.
Legit.ng earlier reported that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had imposed limits on how much banks can hold in foreign currencies as it addressed banks' net open position (NOP) limits on foreign currency assets and liabilities.
Similarly, it also fixed $1 million as the minimum share capital requirement for International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) in Nigeria, amongst other changes.
Special task force to enforce law
The EFCC disclosed that the special task force would uphold the current legislation against currency manipulation and the dollarisation of the economy.
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It said that it had arrested some of the offenders who were mutilating naira and writing bills in dollars in the states of Lagos and Rivers.
Oyewale said the task force was established to guard the economy against abuse, leaks, and distortions that could cause instability and disruption.
He said:
“Already, the commission has made some arrests of perpetrators of issuing invoices in dollars and mutating the naira in Lagos and Port Harcourt.
“Also, proprietors of private universities and other institutions of higher learning charging fees in dollars have been invited by the Commission.
7,000-man operatives in 14 commands
According to the Punch, the EFCC special task force has around 7,000 operators, roughly 500 operators per command, working in all 14 commands.
The zonal commands are Lagos, Maiduguri, Makurdi, Port Harcourt, Sokoto, Abuja, Benin, Enugu, Gombe, Ibadan, Ilorin, Kaduna, Kano, and Uyo.
It was gathered that the EFCC invited all private universities and other tertiary institutions that charge in dollars and other foreign currencies, instead of naira, for a briefing.
This was done to make them aware that only the Naira is legal tender in Nigeria, according to a source who was not authorised to speak on the matter.
Another source, who asked not to be identified for confidential reasons, said the EFCC would not arrest the school's owners until they continued breaking the law by taking in foreign currency.
He stated:
“The Special Task Force is operating in all our 14 commands, and we have about 500 operatives in each command’s task force; that equals over 7,000 operatives overall.
“We invited, quizzed, and sensitised all the proprietors of all private universities and other tertiary institutions charging dollars and other foreign currencies in place of naira.
EFCC agrees with BDCs on black market
Legit.ng earlier reported that the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) and the EFCC agreed to crash the dollar rate at the black market.
The decision was reached after a meeting at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja, attended by EFCC chairman Ola Olukayode and the ABCON national executive council (NEC) led by its president, Aminu Gwadabe.
During the meeting, approval was reached for ABCON to establish a standard website for the Bureaux de Change (BDCs) rate and trading platform.
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Source: Legit.ng
