The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has taken credit for the sustenance of the stability gained by the naira over other foreign currencies.
This position was contained in its annual report (2007) submitted to the Senate, a copy of which was made available to our correspondent on Sunday.
The report was signed by the Commission’s Chairman, Mrs. Farida Waziri.
An entry on page 22 of the report reads, “The stability gained by the naira over other foreign currencies as contained in our report last year is being sustained.
“This trend is a direct consequence of the confidence which the Commission’s work has instilled in the international community.”
It also said the Special Lands Fraud Unit dedicated to investigating land scams, received 514 petitions; 62 of which were fully investigated, nine terminated, 213 still under investigation while the balance of 239 were either withdrawn or investigations declined.
According to the commission, although it does not settle land disputes, the unit only investigates cases of land that have fraudulent elements.
“It was common practice for fraudulent persons to collect huge sums of money from people purportedly to sell land or houses that they do not own or to outrightly forge land documents to enable them defraud unsuspecting members of the public” the report added.
The report said the fight against Advance Free Fraud remained a major challenge in the year under review.
“The stream of petitions from foreigners either directly or through their embassies continued to pour in and evidence revealed rapidly changing typologies to evade detection.
“The fraudsters now operate from private homes, hotels and using broadband and wireless facilities.”
The report also cited a growing number of cases of migration of fraudsters from Nigeria to neighbouring countries as a result of measures put in place to curb their activities at home.
Waziri said maintaining the insularity of the commission from political interference as well as sustaining the confidence of Nigerians and the international community in the EFCC also remained one of its major challenges in the year under review.