Nigeria lacks capability to fight corruption, says CFIA

The Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Auditors in Nigeria (CFIA) has disclosed that the country lacks the capacity to fight corruption.

The CFIA President, Dr. Victoria Ayishetu declared this yesterday at the induction of the institute’s new members.

According to her, the level of sophisticated tactics devised by fraudsters to perpetrate crimes, have outsmarted the existing traditional auditing in the country.

She said fraudsters have taken advantage of the 21st century digital revolution in their fraudulent practices.

She added that most times, they go undetected through the radar of ill-equipped traditional systems of auditing.

Ayishetu stressed the need for advance auditing knowledge, including science and technology in sniffing out fraud.

She added that accountants have been unable to sniff out fraud, because fraudsters had advanced to using sophisticated, or high tech equipment in committing the crime.

The president disclosed that the institute has been training forensic auditors to bridge the gap, with the use of modern technological tools.

This, she, noted would help to save foreign exchange for the country, as it is faced with challenges of transparency, accountability and good governance.

The president disclosed that the CFIA Bill that is pending at the Senate had scaled first and second reading, including public hearing.

She expressed confidence that the bill, which received an overwhelming support, would be passed into law in the course of the year.

Also, a member of the institute’s Board of Trustee, Prof. Bayero Mohammed said the lack of forensic auditors was the reason the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have been unable to prosecute corruption cases.

Meanwhile, a rights activist, Jaye Gaskiya, has advised the Federal Government to demonstrate zero tolerance for fraud and corruption.

He made the call in Abuja yesterday in reaction to the EY global fraud survey.

The report had ranked Nigeria number three of 55 countries that have failed in its fight against corruption.