The Commander of the Uyo Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, ACE-1 Nwanneka Nwokike has warned bank officials against providing foreign exchange to customers who have no intention of travelling outside Nigeria.
Nwokike who gave the warning on Wednesday, September 8, 2021 when he met with Chief Compliance Officers of banks in the zone, said indications have emerged that some bank customers present fake travel documents including false flight bookings, to obtain foreign exchange.
According to him, the EFCC under the leadership of Abdulrasheed Bawa, has vowed to clamp down on forex offenders, be they bank Officials or customers.
“Always report bank officials who collude with criminal elements to collect foreign exchange. There are very strong indications that it is happening, … go back and sensitize your staff, to ensure that they always do the right thing because ‘doing the right thing’ has become the new normal; therefore proper verification of documents presented by customers for forex must be done.
“Again, the Commission will not entertain excuses, and will no longer look away when Banks fail to do their due diligence,” Nwokike said.
While responding to the issue of customers who book foreign flights and cancel after collecting foreign exchange from banks, the Deputy Zonal Commander ACE-11 Hamidu S. Bawa instructed the compliance officers to report such customers to the commission. “When you observe such offenders, report them to the commission and provide their BVN along, because after now, the liability will be on you and I’m sure you don’t want that to happen,” he said.
The Zonal Commander further asked for a better working relationship that will ensure quick response by banks to letters from the commission.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
