Nuhu Ribadu

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EFCC Executive Chairman Nuhu Ribadu

Mallam Nuhu Ribadu (born November 11, 1960) is the Executive Chairman of Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Prior to his appointment to his current position by Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo in April of 2003, Ribadu served as Nigeria's Assistant Commissioner of Police and as the head of the Legal and Prosecution Department of the Nigeria Police Force. He studied law at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria from 1980 until 1983, receiving a Bachelor of Laws degree. Following a year at the Nigerian Law School, Ribadu received his Call to Bar in 1984. He also earned a Master of Laws degree from the same university.

In 2002, the Government of Nigeria formed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with the passage of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Establishment Act of 2002 in order to address the growing problem of corruption and fraud in Nigeria and in an attempt to counteract the impact of such upon Nigeria's national reputation. Having been appointed by President Obasanjo, Ribadu became Executive Chairman the following year. Under Ribadu's administration, the EFCC has charged prominent bankers, former ministers, Senate presidents, high-ranking political party members and large-scale 419 gang operators. ^[1]

Ribadu has described the impact of the EFCC as such: "The $100 million we've confiscated from spammers and other defendants is the least that cybercrime has cost our country. Our economy has lost hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign investment because our credibility and the trust of the international community have been affected. Nigerians can't even use financial instruments as basic as mail orders; if it comes from Nigeria, it's suspect."

On October 20, 2006, Ribadu told BBC that over 380 billion dollars has either been stolen or wasted by Nigerian governments since independence in 1960. ^[2]