The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes (EFCC) Ola Olukoyede has assured youths across the country that the Commission was working hard and tirelessly to secure their future from the grip of fraudsters who are bent on tarnishing the image of the country and ruin the future of the next generation.

He gave the assurance in Abuja, on Thursday, July 25, 2024 while receiving the Engineering and Computer Science Students of Citi Polytechnic, Abuja at the corporate headquarters of the Commission

Speaking through the Head, Creative Communications Unit, (CCU) of the Commission, Assistant Commander of the EFCC,   ACEI Chris Oluka, Olukoyede stressed that the anti-corruption disposition of today’s youths was the only thing that would open up the future for the whole nation.

“One thing we want to assure you is that EFCC is for you, the Commission is working very hard to secure your future because you see how things are today, it did not start today, the rot in the system started a long time ago, and so, if we can be so sure about this generation, we will be so sure that many years to come, Nigeria will be safer”

“The reason why you are here I believe is because of the relevance that the EFCC attaches to the youths. We believe so strongly that it shouldn’t be a mantra that is being said over the years that the future belongs to the youths but in reality, the future needs to belong to the youths”, he said.

According to him, the two major issues the EFCC is tackling are economic and financial crimes, explaining  that, “an economic crime is any crime that is against the economy of the country while a financial crime is any crime that you can use any financial instrument to commit and probably through financial institutions and designated non-financial institutions”.

The Head, Public Interface Unit of the Commission, ACEI Tony Orilade, in his paper titled: “How Youths Can Avoid the Temptation of Internet Fraud”, charged the youths to stand for the right thing and avoid temptations of cybercrimes and be good citizens of the country.

“Students of Citi Polytechnic, Abuja, you are the youths of Nigeria. I charge you to stand for the right thing always, I charge you to say no to cybercrime (yahoo-yahoo), say no to examination malpractices, and let us live a life of integrity for a better Nigeria.” he said.

Continuing, he said, “youths particularly have a major role to play in promoting transparent and accountable governance, including advocacy in tracking budget performance. Take advantage of the whistle-blowing policy in Nigeria, which was launched on December 21, 2016, by the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Finance.”

He further stated that “policy is an anti-corruption programme that encourages people to voluntarily disclose information about fraud, bribery, looting of government funds, financial misconduct, abuse / embezzlement of government assets, and any other forms of corruption or theft against the Nigeria’s government.”

Speaking on the menace of cybercrime, Assistant Superintendent of EFCC, ASE Ogunjobi Olaleke said youths are into cybercrimes because of high rate of internal and external pressure for possessions, get-rich- quick attitude, greed  and pressure to support parents and guardians, including low self-control

Also, cyber security analyst, Deputy Director, Robert C. Okwor, says cyber analysis plays a crucial role in preventing data breaches and cyber threats.  “You have to stay updated on the latest cyber security trends by adapting strategies to protect yourselves against potential security vulnerabilities,” he said.

Head, Enlightenment and Reorientation Unit, Aisha Muhammed, urged the students to join the EFCC in its fight against internet fraud, economic and financial crimes and join hands with the Commission to rid the nation of all corrupt elements. “All of us have to put our hands together to fight corruption, so that we can make it and be happy. If we cannot do it for ourselves, let’s do it for our children and our children’s children”

Responding, the representative of the students, Veronica Christopher thanked the EFCC for the opportunity to see things by themselves, adding that “we will look forward to having you in our school for more enlightenment and whatever we learnt here today, we are going to enlighten others and spread the message about corruption.”