As the world marked the 2023 International Fraud Awareness Week, Chartered Institute of Forensics and Certified Fraud Investigators of Nigeria (CIFCFIN) has said available intelligence indicates that federal, state and local governments cumulatively lose N1.4 trillion yearly to contract scams, procurement fraud, fraudulent court judgments and related crimes.
The global event is held between November 8 and 18 every year. CIFCFIN added that the “current yearly losses are expected to rise to N3 trillion by 2025 if nothing is done to remedy the situation.”
In a statement, the institute said the huge debit informed its persistent calls for the government to review procurement laws to include forensic experts for plugging of holes.
The statement quoted CIFCFIN president, Dr. Iliyasu Gashinbaki, who was speaking at an event to mark the Week in Abuja, as saying: “Two things are required. One is to conduct a forensic review to look at the way contracts are awarded by government, and second is the digitisation of the process. He submitted that the traditional way of vetting contracts by reviewing clauses was susceptible to fraud.
According to him, with forensic examination, experts appraise backgrounds of parties, terms and conditions and their implications of signing the contract and futuristic projections.
This way, all suspicious contracts can be clearly seen by the government, he said. On digitisation of the procurement process, Gashinbaki said: “Once digitisation is involved, it makes it more accountable and more transparent. And all the body of knowledge to forestall challenges will now be inputted, and because it is AI (Artificial Intelligence)-driven, you will discover that parties are notified of their obligations, of their failings, of their timelines and all of that; as defined in the contracts.”
Highlighting the importance of the yearly international programme, Acting Registrar, Dr. Isa Salifu, said it was meant to create awareness about the danger and implications of fraud.
He recalled that the New York-based Bloomberg once revealed that Global Steel Holdings Ltd (GSHL) ventured into the Nigerian steel industry in 2004, acquiring five major concessions and share purchase contracts during ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo administration.
Salifu explained: “The agreement was to first manage and later buy Ajaokuta Steel Company Ltd. However, the contracts were revoked in 2008 after the Federal Government accused the firm of asset stripping. In 2016, the government approved the execution of a modified concession agreement with GSHL, which allowed the firm to retain the Nigerian Iron Ore Mining Company in Itakpe.
“Three years later, the Federal Government backed out of the agreement leading to legal battles involving both parties. The settlement payment of $496 million was 91 per cent less than the earlier claim of the firm to the tune of $5.258 billion, according to the Attorney General and Minister of Justice at the time.
“According to Bloomberg, Global Steel was put into liquidation by a London court over $167 million owed to Moorgate Industries Ltd and the payment from Nigeria could offer a lifeline to the company.”
