{"id":8102,"date":"2025-07-01T06:16:05","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T06:16:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/?p=8102"},"modified":"2025-07-01T06:16:05","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T06:16:05","slug":"bawa-exposes-deep-rooted-fuel-subsidy-fraud-in-explosive-new-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/01\/bawa-exposes-deep-rooted-fuel-subsidy-fraud-in-explosive-new-book\/","title":{"rendered":"Bawa Exposes Deep-Rooted Fuel Subsidy Fraud in Explosive New Book"},"content":{"rendered":"

AbdulRasheed Bawa, CON, former Chairman of Nigeria\u2019s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has blown the lid off the country\u2019s multi-decade fuel subsidy regime, describing it as a cesspool of fraud, corruption, and systemic compromise across both public and private sectors.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a revealing interview with ARISE News centered on his new book, The Shadow of Loot and Losses: Uncovering Nigeria’s Fuel Subsidy Fraud<\/em>, Bawa detailed how the EFCC uncovered large-scale irregularities between 2006 and 2011 that ultimately cost Nigeria trillions of naira.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cEverybody was benefiting from the scale and the scam \u2014 including law enforcement,\u201d Bawa said.
\u201cPeople were compromised to look the other way. It was a general thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

According to Bawa, subsidy payouts skyrocketed from \u20a6200 billion in 2006 to a staggering \u20a62.1 trillion by 2011, largely due to regulatory manipulation, political interference, and entrenched interests. While not every transaction was fraudulent, many were enabled by gaps in oversight and human compromise.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cNo matter how fortified a system is, once the human element is involved, anything is possible,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The book, based on years of field investigations during his time at the EFCC, chronicles how the Commission prosecuted several oil marketers, leading to a major drop in subsidy-related spending and a significant reduction in the number of marketers \u2014 from 118 to just 49.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe took action \u2014 we charged people to court. Eventually, the government opted for negotiated recoveries,\u201d Bawa revealed.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

He emphasized that while full-scale convictions were achieved, the Federal Government later chose settlements as a quicker, more pragmatic route to reclaim stolen funds. This strategy, he said, contributed to subsidy reductions from over \u20a62 trillion to \u20a61 trillion.<\/p>\n

Bawa welcomed President Bola Tinubu\u2019s 2023 decision to eliminate fuel subsidies entirely, calling it a long-overdue move to shut down a channel of systemic fraud.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a good thing that we had to let it go. That opportunity for looting is no more,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

On whether the savings from subsidy removal are being put to good use, Bawa said he couldn\u2019t confirm but believed there had to be \u201csignificant redirection of funds into governance.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked about his own controversial exit from the EFCC amid probe allegations, Bawa played down speculation of political targeting but acknowledged the unfortunate pattern of EFCC chairmen leaving under scrutiny.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a phase. Whether you\u2019re telling the truth or not, people will always talk,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Still, he stands by the legacy of his anti-graft campaign, particularly the subsidy fraud crackdown.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe impact is real. The frauds identified helped deal a serious blow to many benefiting from the scheme,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AbdulRasheed Bawa, CON, former Chairman of Nigeria\u2019s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has blown the lid off the country\u2019s multi-decade fuel subsidy regime, describing it as a cesspool of fraud, corruption, and systemic compromise across both public and private sectors. In a revealing interview with ARISE News centered on his new book, The Shadow […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7951,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"Ex-EFCC Chairman Bawa reveals Nigeria's entrenched subsidy fraud, implicating officials, security agencies, and oil marketers in massive corruption.","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8102"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8102"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8105,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8102\/revisions\/8105"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}