EFCC won 2,220 cases, lost 34 in 2021

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it secured a total of 2,220 convictions nationwide in 2021.

The agency only lost 34 cases the entire year, ending with a 98.49% success rate according to figures made public on Thursday, January 6, 2022.

The EFCC's Lagos Zonal Command (covering Lagos and Ogun) secured the most convictions with 481.

The Ibadan Command (Oyo, Osun, and Ekiti) finished a close second with 324 convictions, and the Port Harcourt Command (Rivers, Bayelsa, and Abia) finished third with 230 convictions.

The Makurdi Command (Benue, Taraba, and Plateau) recorded the lowest number of convictions with 22, followed by the Maiduguri Command (Borno and Yobe) with 26, and the Sokoto Command (Sokoto, Kebbi, and Zamfara) with 38. 

The Abuja Command (FCT and Nasarawa) finished the year with 140 convictions.

Last year's conviction total is the highest recorded in the history of the anti-graft agency.

"Before 2021, the highest record of conviction by the commission was secured in 2019 with 1280 convictions. The 2220 record of 2021 is a 127.5 % improvement over the 2019 record," the agency said.

EFCC chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, said the anti-graft agency will continue to build on its achievements to combat fraud in the country.

The agency faced a lot of public criticism last year especially over a series of raids on hotels hunting for cybercriminals.

The agency insisted the raids were conducted based on reliable intel that targeted specific suspects, but critics said they were targeting and profiling young people who displayed any kind of wealth.

Many of the agency's high-profile cases against high profile people, especially current and former public office holders, did not see any significant progress over the course of the year.