Ex-EFCC Boss Bawa Details How Nigeria Lost $450 Million in Subsidy Scam

Abdulrasheed Bawa, the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), disclosed that between 2006 and 2012, Nigeria lost $450 million due to fraud involving the Petroleum Support Fund (PSF).
In his recently published book, “The Shadow of Loot & Losses: Uncovering Nigeria’s Petroleum Subsidy Fraud,” which details the pervasive corruption that afflicted Nigeria’s gasoline subsidy system, Bawa reportedly made the revelation.
Several oil marketers were found guilty and were later prosecuted, according to the former head of the EFCC, who oversaw a special investigation team while he was employed by the commission.

With an estimate of almost ₦16.5 trillion spent on gasoline subsidies since the return to democratic rule in 1999, Bawa also shed light on Nigeria’s overall subsidy burden.
He stated, “Our investigations showed that fraud related to petroleum subsidies exceeded N68 billion, which translates to over $450 million in direct fraudulent activities, as acknowledged by the oil marketing companies involved.” Between 2006 and 2011, 59 of the 141 companies that took part in the PSF scheme were complicit in this fraud. Additionally, we discovered ₦19.6 billion in bogus claims pertaining to problems with traders (sellers), of which the oil marketing organizations denied any knowledge,” Bawa stated.

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“Our investigation also found that oil marketing companies sought to defraud N9.4 billion by forging documents to match the mother vessel bills of lading’s changed dates in order to obtain larger subsidy payments. However, these modified bill of lading dates were ultimately not used because of preexisting problems in the guidelines’ applicability.

Remarkably, no violations were reported in 2006 or 2007. But by 2008, 2009, and 2010, we discovered substantial fraud amounting to ₦11.5 billion, ₦4.88 billion, and ₦10.3 billion, respectively. I believe that the apex of fuel subsidy fraud occurred in 2011, when we discovered ₦41.7 billion in fraudulent activity. Of the approximately 68 billion that was lost as a result of the fraudulent operations, about 80 percent has been recovered. The unclaimed money is related to cases that are still proceeding in court or promoters who have since passed away.

Together with numerous other unreported sums and indirect revenue losses, these direct revenue losses could have been utilized to fund social welfare programs, infrastructure improvements, and necessary public services. The fiscal deficit has unfortunately been made worse by the fraudulent drain of public funds, leading to budget cuts in vital areas like social welfare, healthcare, and education.

Since Nigeria’s restoration to democracy in 1999, the financial records of subsidy payments under various regimes are shown in Table 6.1. Nigeria has spent an astounding ₦16.5 trillion on subsidies in the last 25 years of democratic rule.

A “substantial portion of the expenditure,” Bawa continued, was connected to theft from the public treasury and fraudulent claims.