Use ICT to fight crime, Ekweremadu tells police

JULY 2, 2013  

Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu

The Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu on Monday urged law enforcement agents, particularly the police, to use Information and Communications Technology in fighting crime in the country.

This came as the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation said commercial banks in the country lost N4.5bn to fraud, forgery and related theft in 2012.

 Ekweremadu made the appeal at a workshop organised by the Special Fraud Unit of the Nigeria Police in Lagos.

 He presented a paper entitled, ‘The social impact of corruption and related crimes on a growing economy’.

He said, “There is an urgent need to deploy Information Communications Technology to crime-fighting efforts. In the developed economies, merely swiping a suspect’s driving licence automatically makes all necessary information about him or her available.

“We need compulsory biometrics, ICT payroll system, and reliable demographic data to be able to nip crimes in the bud and solve them faster when they occur.”

The NDIC Managing Director, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim, who also frowned on the losses banks incurred because of fraud and forgery, noted that the issue was of a major concern to the corporation.

He said, “In 2012 alone, Deposit Money Banks reported 3,380 cases of attempted fraud and forgery involving a whooping N18.04bn to the corporation. Actual loss for 2012 was N4.5bn.  During the first quarter of 2013, there were 983 reported cases of attempted fraud involving N7.80bn while the actual loss for the quarter was N2.50bn.

“This has remained a source of worry to the corporation hence this workshop could not have come at a more auspicious time.  The nature of this fraud ranges from ATM fraud, Internet banking fraud, fraudulent transfers, presentation of forged/stolen cheques, and outright theft by members of staff, among others.”

The workshop, which had in attendance, London Police and FBI personnel, was entitled ‘Corporate fraud: insider abuse in financial institutions and the implication on a developing economy’.