The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has justified the interception and arrest of 21 trucks loaded with food items allegedly being smuggled into neighbouring countries. The commission described the act as economic sabotage.
The justification was made in Abuja yesterday by the spokesperson of the commission, Dele Oyewale, who fielded questions in an interview session with the EFCC Radio, 97.3 FM.
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Oyewale said, “The EFCC is saddled with the mandate of tackling all forms of economic and financial crimes, especially issues that directly affect the economy, to avert sabotage.
“Anything that has a negative bearing on the economy is an act of economic sabotage or serving as a leakage, distortion or disequilibrium in the economy, the Commission has a responsibility to tackle it and that is what the EFCC has done.
“It is not that the commission is throwing its nets towards the borders; an arrest can be made anywhere, and the smugglers were arrested at the exit routes leading to Cameroon and Chad as a result of the effectiveness of our surveillance. They could have also been arrested anywhere else, but the most important thing is that they were arrested for allegedly smuggling food items that could be useful to Nigerians, which they were not allowed to take out of the country.”
He urged the public to commend and support the commission for spreading its wings across the country, noting that “the commission is proactive and it is everywhere to ensure that the economy is revamped so that Nigerians can get optimum value. So, I think Nigerians should applaud the commission more for being proactive enough to tackle such incidental crimes. We all need to join hands together to ensure that this problem of economic sabotage is directly addressed.”