Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Ola Olukoyede has commended members of the Nigerian armed forces for their gallantry and sacrifices in the face of security challenges across the country.
He gave the commendation in Abuja on Wednesday, March 27, 2024 while receiving students of the Departments of Intelligence, Security Science and Cyber Security of the Nigerian Defence Academy, NDA, Kaduna, who came on a study tour of the EFCC.
According to him, officers and men of the armed forces have demonstrated huge courage and made sacrifices to ensure peace and security of the nation.
“While our peace and security as a community face severe tests at every turn across the country, I wish to utilize this opportunity to praise our troops for standing up to the challenge at the risk of their lives.
The undeterred spirit of officers and men of Nigerian Arm Forces have sustained us thus far as a nation in the face of the mounting activities of those who want disintegration, trauma and turmoil for our country”, he said.
He charged the visiting cadets to imbibe “the courage and patriotism of the serving officers of the Nigerian military and justify the national investment in you by putting the country before self when you step out of the Academy as officers.”
The EFCC’s boss, who spoke through the Secretary to the Commission, Mohammed Hammajoda, charged the NDA to continue to invest in training and retraining of its officers in intelligence gathering to be able to meet the challenges posed by cyber insecurity and associated crimes. He assured the cadets that their study tour of the EFCC would avail them an opportunity of understudying the EFCC’s tools of intelligence gathering and intelligence operation procedures.
“In EFCC, intelligence gathering and processing drive our fight against corruption, economic and financial crimes and are very central to the successes we record. I can therefore say with every sense of modesty that you have come to the right place”, he said.
He noted that the EFCC had an impressive history of collaboration and support from the Nigerian Armed Forces. “In the area of training, the NDA was our choice destination for the training of our officers and we are happy and proud of the professionals they turned out to be with your tutelage”, he said. He assured the cadets of the EFCC’s readiness to offer them adequate familiarization with its systems and procedures of intelligence gathering, processing and management
Earlier in his remark, the Dean, Faculty of Military Science and Interdisciplinary Studies, Navy Captain I R, Saidu, who represented the Commandant, Nigeria Defence Academy, Major General J.O Ochai, said the NDA was in the Commission to acquaint the cadets with the necessary tools, equipment and processes needed in intelligence operations, “to expose the cadets to practical experiences of intelligence operations in the field, align them with the training relevant to global best practices, and meet up with the NUC requirements and compliment cadets’ lectures in areas of intelligence analysis, tradecraft, terrorism and counter-terrorism”.
EFCC’s Director of Information Communication Technology, ICT, Isha J. Abdullahi, urged the NDA to invest more in ICT and brace up with new technology, emphasizing the need for social media, digital currency and equipping themselves with the knowledge of self- protection in a digital world. “Be careful of what you save on your phones and acquaint yourselves with knowledge on cyber security as students. ICT is the future of the world”, he said.
The Head, Enlightenment and Reorientation, Assistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE11Aisha Muhammed tasked the cadets to be part of the anti-corruption fight. She stressed that the fight against corruption and cybercrimes are for every Nigerian and not the duty of the EFCC alone.
She described the cadets as ambassadors of the EFCC, charging them to help to make Nigeria better. She assured the cadets that the Commission would inaugurate the EFCC Zero Tolerance Club in the NDA.
The cadets were given lectures on Positive Use of Social Media by Head, Public Interface Unit, ACE 1 Tony Orilade; Intelligence by the Head, Strategic Intelligence Analysis, ACE 11 Bello Umar Jalingo; Cyber Security by Deputy Director, Cyber Security, ACE 1, Okwor Robert and Cybercrime by Assistant Superintendent of the EFCC I, Olalekan Ogunjobi
They also used the opportunity of the tour to visit the EFCC Radio, 97.3fm Station.
