Public Perception on the Role of Economic and Financial Crime Commission in Curbing the Menace of Money Laundering in Nigeria

Abstract

The Economic and Flnandal Crime Commission (EFCC) is a commission saddled with the responsibility of fighting economic and financial crimes and other related offences ln Nigeria as established in the Act of 2004. However, the effectiveness of the commission towards the discharge of her statutory roles as well as the enforcement of the provisions of the Money Laundering. Act via curbing the menace has witnessed ardent arguments. Therefore, this study examines public perception on the role of EFCC in curbing money laundering in Nigeria. While the study is anchored on defiant theory, it utilizes qualitative method to, generate data. Two states (Lagos and Kwara) and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) were purposively selected for the study. A total of 36: participants were selected (12 from each state and FCT) through purposive sampling technique. In order to have a spread of the respondents, the 12 participants from each state and FCT were selected from different areas of the states. In-depth interviews were conducted with the 36 respondents, and content analytical technique was used to analyse narratives from the respondents. The analysis revealed while some participants expressed that the agency has been effective in curbing money laundering and other financial crimes, some participants argued that the agency is incapable of fighting money laundering and other financial crimes in the country because of the agency's lack of autonomy/independence. Therefore, the study recommended that EFCC should be granted autonomy to prevent the agency from being used and manipulated by any sitting government as a tool to fight political opponentes).