SEC, EFCC pledge to collaborate in combating  capital market crimes

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have agreed to collaborate in combating crime in the Nigerian capital market.

The agreement was reached when the SEC management met with the management team of the EFCC at the EFCC corporate headquarters in Abuja at weekend.

The Acting DG of SEC, Ms. Mary Uduk, who led the team, said the visit was necessary in order to close ranks in the face of re-awakening of Ponzi schemes, cybercrime and other fraudulent activities that have engulfed the market in the last few years.

Uduk also stated that the visit was aimed at revisiting the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between SEC and EFCC on January 19, 2017.

According to Uduk, some areas where the MoU seeks cooperation of both agencies includes training, secondment of middle cadre officers of SEC to EFCC and those of EFCC to SEC, cross border asset seizure, repatriation of stolen funds from the capital market and prosecution of offenders amongst others.

“We have had reasons to work together on some cases in the past. There is no better time for the SEC and EFCC to collaborate more closely than now,” she added.

Responding, the Acting Chairman of EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, thanked the executive management of SEC for the gesture and stressed the need to strengthen collaboration between both agencies.

Magu also assured the SEC team of the EFCC’s support in ensuring that clauses embedded in the MoU are executed given the magnitude of fraudulent activities currently on-going in the country.

He reiterated the need for joint training of staff of both organisations and said there is need to review the MoU in order to achieve both organisations’ objectives.

On the rising spate of Ponzi schemes in the country, Magu stressed the need for more sensitisation campaigns between SEC and EFCC to ensure unsuspecting Nigerians do not continue to lose their hard earned money.