The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has charged Nigerian youths and members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to be growth-oriented and actively participate in the fight against economic and financial crimes.
Olukoyede delivered the call on Thursday, while addressing Batch B, Stream 2 corps members at the NYSC orientation camp in Iyana Ipaja, Lagos.
He spoke through Babatunde Sulaiman, Head of Public Affairs for the EFCC’s Lagos Zonal Directorate 2.
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He urged them to make the most of technology and the internet and to serve as whistleblowers.
“Be goal-oriented. Don’t cover up criminal tendencies and fraudulent practices around you. Expose them”, Olukoyede said, directing them to offer intelligence to the EFCC via the official digital fraud reporting tool, the Eagle Eye App.
Olukoyede stressed the collective need to take definitive action, noting that “corruption has brought us down the ladder of development.”
He further warned youths to steer clear of actions that could lead to them being labelled as ex-convicts, highlighting the severe long-term consequences.
“Over time, internet fraudsters are getting convicted in multiples and wearing tags of ex-convicts. This is a roadblock to future advancements,” he warned.
He pointed out that an ex-convict cannot hold public or leadership office, will likely be denied visas, and cannot run any serious international or national business, urging youths to protect their future.
In similar addresses across the country, the EFCC boss relayed the same message in Enugu, where he spoke through Emmanuel Afanda.
He tasked corps members to invest their energy in public enlightenment and to use their education to mobilise their localities against financial crimes, calling it “the surest way to move the nation forward.”
In Akwa Ibom and Cross River States, he emphasised the availability of legitimate and productive means of income outside of cybercrime, warning that fraudulent activities only harm the youth’s future and the community.
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In Kaduna, Olukoyede charged the corps members to channel their talent towards positive contributions to the anti-graft fight rather than engaging in internet and cybercrimes.
Represented by various officials, he consistently noted that the NYSC year is a unique chance for corps members to contribute meaningfully to national development.
