The International Police (Interpol), Wednesday, extended to the Economic and Financial Crimes (EFCC) its globalised information – 247 which enables users to share sensitive and urgent police information with their counterparts around the globe.The EFCC had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Interpol on November 29, 2018, as part of collaboration aimed at tackling the menace of corruption in Nigeria.
EFCC Head, Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, in a press statement in Abuja, said the information platform, codenamed 1P-247, was extended to the EFCC in a brief ceremony attended by the EFCC acting Chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, key officers of Interpol and some management staff of the EFCC.
According to the statement, “The IP-24/7 is a global police communications system that connects law enforcement agencies in all the 194 member countries. It enables users to share sensitive and urgent police information with their counterparts around the globe, 24 hours a day, and 365 days a year.
“With the extension of IP-247 to the EFCC, the commission now has direct, quick access to 18 databases through which information about criminal activities across the world can be accessed.”
The spokesperson said the commission boss in his response, thanked the Interpol for extending IP-247 to the EFCC and its role in facilitating arrests and investigation of many high-profile corrupt individuals.
He said, “Things get done when you work with Interpol. We have been planning this since 2018 and I thank God it is happening today.”
Magu said the platform will energize every enforcement initiative of the EFCC, stressing that “enforcement is the greatest deterrent to corruption.”
The spokesperson further stated that the Commissioner of Police, Interpol and Head, National Central Bureau, (NCB), CP G.B. Umar, while congratulating the EFCC and the acting chairman on the new milestone, said the extension of the platform was made possible by the chairman’s passion and determination in the fight against financial crimes in Nigeria.
He said Umar described the platform as a great breakthrough in criminal investigation, adding that with access to the Interpol platform the EFCC could manage the 18 database itself without going through the Interpol secretariat in Lyon, France.
