Mr. Abdulkarim Chukkol, the Acting Chairman of the EFCC, raised these concerns during a workshop titled "Effective Reporting of Economic and Financial Crimes." The workshop was organized for 30 journalists from major media organizations across the country and took place in Makurdi.

Represented by Mr. Friday Ebelo, the Head of Makurdi Zonal Office of EFCC, Chukkol stated that the commission has implemented measures to address this worrisome situation. He emphasized that the primary objective of the EFCC is to drastically reduce corruption in the country and ensure the effective and professional discharge of its duties.

“Through the commission’s enforcement activities, recoveries running into several billions of naira have been recorded and the country’s anti-money laundering framework strengthened.

“There is now a more robust regulation of the activities of these entities which are vulnerable to money laundering,” he added.

In his address, Chukkol issued a stern warning against disclosing bank details to anyone to prevent them from being used for illicit financial transactions. He urged the media to educate family members, friends, politicians, and others about the risks associated with allowing their bank accounts to be used for money laundering emphasizing that, according to the Money Laundering Act of 2022, family members and close associates of politicians, public office holders, and top civil servants are now classified as Politically Exposed Persons.

Chukkol also said that the commission had recorded 3,785 convictions in 2022, the highest since its establishment.

He said that the Makurdi Zonal Office, which was established in 2019, has so far recorded 107 convictions.