SAN FRANCISCO, September 09, (THEWILL) – The Benin Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) has asked Compliance officers of banks in the city to be on the lookout for suspicious transactions ahead of the September 19 Edo governorship election.
THEWILL gathered that the Zonal Office Head of the EFCC, Muhtar Bello asked the compliance officers to be on alert as politicians may want to use banks for illicit transactions before, during and after the elections.
“Once the transaction is above the stipulated threshold, you have a duty to report. So be alert, ” Bello said while speaking to the bankers on behalf of the acting Executive Chairman, Umar Abba Mohammed.
Bello emphasized that bankers have a key role to play in the fight against corruption but bemoaned the fact that most of the fraud committed by fraudsters are aided by them.. “Sometimes bankers are culpable because they do not always carry out due diligence and comprehensive Know Your Customers (KYC). KYC should be a continuous process,” he said.
He charged the bankers to adhere strictly with banking rules, shun temptation in the line of duty and report any transaction that fails the simple rules of integrity. “Adhere to the rules of Know Your Customer and acquaint yourself with the Money Laundering Act, so you don’t fail in your duties”, he said.
Meanwhile, Special Adviser to Edo State Governor on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, has called on the police, the Department for State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and other relevant security agencies, to invite Benin billionaire, Captain Hosa Okunbo to unveil the identities of his 3000 Niger Delta militants, who are ready to overrun Edo State on his prompting.
According to the Governor’s aide, “Okunbo threatened in a widely published newspaper interview he granted journalists in Abuja, that if his 3000 militants in the Niger Delta region get the nod from him, they would overrun Benin City.”
Okunbo had in a press interview, said “as I speak to you, I have over three thousands youths in the Niger Delta that I am partnering with, and so many of them have been calling me, oga, this election in Edo State, they want to rubbish you o! My youths in the Niger Delta, my children that I am looking after in the Niger Delta, if they come into Benin, they will overrun Benin my brother.” .
According to Osagie, “Okunbo’s subtle threat leaves a lot of gaps that need to be filled by security agencies. He said he has 3000 youths he is partnering with in the Niger Delta region. The security agencies need to establish the identities of these militants and the nature of partnership between them and Okunbo, as we go into the Edo gubernatorial poll.”
