AbdulRasheed Bawa, the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, has called Nigeria’s now-defunct fuel subsidy system a national swindle that was created via institutional complicity, regulatory compromise, and ingrained corruption.
Bawa claimed in an interview with Arise News on Monday that influential groups, including as security services, public officials, and oil marketers, purposefully exploited the long-standing subsidy program.
Speaking about his latest book, “The Shadow of Loot and Losses: Uncovering Nigeria’s Fuel Subsidy Fraud,” which describes EFCC investigations conducted between 2006 and 2011, the former anti-graft czar, who served from 2021 to 2023, made the remarks.
“The scale and the scam was helping everyone, including law enforcement,” said Bawa. It is possible to compromise people to the point where they will ignore the situation. It is a general issue.
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According to him, the EFCC’s investigation showed how Nigeria’s subsidy payouts increased dramatically from ₦200 billion in 2006 to ₦2.1 trillion by 2011, a spike that sparked several investigations and raised concerns.
The extent of the fraud discovered during Bawa’s tenure at the EFCC was unparalleled, he said.
“Even at the EFCC at that time, we saw that this was something that had never happened before,” Bawa added. I made the effort to put it in writing.
Although not all subsidy payments were fraudulent, he pointed out that the system had grown so weak that it allowed powerful actors to take advantage of legal gaps, with political cover protecting many offenders from punishment.
“With a human touch, nothing is impossible, regardless of how robust a system is,” Bawa continued.
Bawa remembered that, as recently as 2025, the EFCC had prosecuted and obtained convictions for a number of people and businesses engaged in subsidy fraud.
“First, people were charged to court,” he stated. They charged another set. The government then realized it didn’t have to go in that direction. They created a recovery window.
According to Bawa, the EFCC’s participation clearly changed the gasoline subsidy environment. He disclosed that annual subsidy payouts decreased from ₦2 trillion to ₦1 trillion, and the number of oil merchants fell from 118 to 49.
Bawa Discusses Tinubu’s Fuel Subsidy Removal
Bawa responded that President Bola Tinubu’s 2023 decision to completely phase off fuel subsidies was long overdue and advantageous for Nigeria’s anti-corruption initiatives and financial stability.
“We were fortunate to have to let it go. He stated, “At least the opportunity that the regime offered is no longer there.”
He expressed confidence that significant sums have been moved to other areas of governance, despite the fact that he was unable to independently verify how the money saved from the withdrawal of subsidies was being used.
Bawa emphasized that governance is an ongoing process but rejected to draw parallels between his time there and the present leadership at the EFCC.
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“There is always room for improvement,” he said. The nation has a very bright future. We need to have hope.
Bawa rejected ideas of political persecution in response to the trend of EFCC chairmen resigning under contentious circumstances, but he did acknowledge the perceptional difficulties associated with the position.
It’s merely a stage that must pass. People are continually talking. People will say something whether you’re talking the truth or not,” he added.
Bawa insisted that the work carried out under his direction, especially in combating subsidy fraud, was extensive and successful even if he was suspended in 2023.
“The effect is genuine. “Those involved in the scheme were dealt a very good blow by the frauds that were discovered,” he said.
