The Lagos Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in partnership with the Rablowoods Professional Services (the sole Association of Certified Fraud Examiners authorized trainer in Nigeria and West Africa), has embarked on the training of 100 officers of the zone, as part of efforts to sharpen their skills in the area of fraud examination and investigation.
The three-day training, which commenced on October 9, 2020, featured presentations by certified fraud examiners from Rablowoods, who shared from their wealth of experience in fraud case management, legal consideration during investigations, common risks and mitigations, investigative process, interview techniques and the essentials of report writing.
Yemi Olufidipe, who presented a paper on the “Basics of Fraud Case Management”, highlighted the importance of documentary evidence and confidentiality in fraud investigation.
He emphasized the importance of planning and preparation in investigation.
Adesola Osuji, who presented a paper on “Investigative Interviewing”, educated participants on the internationally recognized “PEACE Model” of interviewing.
Explaining further, she noted that the “P” stands for “Plan and Prepare”; “E” for “Engage and Explain”; “A” for “Account Elicitation”; “C” for “Close”, and “E” for “Evaluate”..
“The PEACE Model helps in obtaining valuable facts, eliminating the innocent and identifying the guilty,” she said.
In his presentation entitled “Taking/Recording of Extrajudicial Statement”, the Head of the Legal and Prosecution Department, EFCC Lagos Zonal Office, A.B.C. Ozioko, took participants through the procedures of taking statements, explaining that statements could be exculpatory or confessional.
Deputy Chief Detective Superintendent AbdulRasheed Bawa, Head, Lagos Zonal office, disclosed that the Commission was committed to the training of its officers to enhance their productivity.
According to him, “Training like this will be regular because you can’t be in the business of investigation without learning. Fraud and cybercrime are evolving every day, and we need to be abreast of their tactics.”
DCDS Bawa who made three presentations on “Deceptive Verbal Evasion – Identifying Lies in Disguise”; “Rapport”, and “Ethics Consideration for Interview, Interrogation and Statement Taking”, highlighted 16 ways investigators could recognize when a fraud suspect was trying to be deceptive in the course of interrogation.
Aisha Elegbede, General Manager, Rablowoods, said the training was in line with the Corporate Social Responsibility of the organization, adding that it was pleased by the opportunity to partner with the EFCC.