ECONOMIC CRIMES AND NATIONAL SECURITY CHALLENGES FOR NIGERIA
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The phenomenon of crime has been in existence since time immemorial.
From the time Adam disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden to the modern
highly complex crime networks, the human society has never been devoid of
criminal activities. Human nature is inflexible and hence crime, which is a
product of human existence, has remained irrespective of space, time or
age. Nevertheless differences do exist in the practices prevalent in various cultures and societies.
A holistic definition of crime has remained illusive to scholars. This implies that there is no simple definition for crime.
It is an act or the commission of an act that is forbidden or the omission of a duty that is commanded by a public law
and that makes the offender liable to punishment by that law (Pillai, 2001:13). Adam smith’s natural theory of law on
one hand defines crime as, ‘the violation of individual rights and man made laws’ or simply, an illegal act (ibid:14).
There are varying classifications and categories of crime.
The FBI classifies crimes into violent, property and economic crimes. Violent crimes include murder and homicide
(voluntary manslaughter), forcible rape, aggravated assault, and robbery while property crimes include burglary,
arson, larceny, and motor vehicle theft. Economic crimes on the other hand include the embezzlement of public funds, currency trafficking and money laundering. Other categories of economic crimes include tax evasion, AFF and all
such illegal acts that may have a damaging effect on the economy of the host country.
Since the end of the Cold War, many countries have witnessed great advancement in science and technology. This advancement in technology brought about a revolution in ICT. With the world now globalized, the ICT revolution in the
Twentieth Century literally removed the barriers of time and space, thus increasing political and economic interactions
among nations. This development ushered in abundant opportunities in the areas of tourism, culture and economic
interaction among many countries. This resulted in the free and fast movement of people, information, goods and
money across international borders. Thus with ICT, huge funds could be transferred across the globe electronically
within a very short time.
These new opportunities brought along with them some challenges, such as the issue of economic crimes and the
attendant insecurity. Economic crimes have since taken a new dimension of complexity with no respect for
international boundaries. This has seriously threatened the world economy as well as the physical security and
sociological well being of many countries.
All countries are vulnerable to the harmful effects of economic crimes. In the USA, daily foreign exchange
transactions is estimated at US $1 trillion, out of which over US $20 billion is lost to economic and finance related
crimes annually (Robinson, 2005:5).Similarly, the UK looses ₤25 billion yearly through scam (ibid:6). Commenting on
the amount of money involved in this crime, Edward Jurith, acting director of the US ONDCP, stated that it stood
roughly at US $1 trillion a year. This is largely realized from drug trafficking (Jurith, 2002:212). This implies that the
volume of economic transactions across the world economies in a day is huge. It is therefore difficult to track dubious
dealings in the midst of legitimate payments.
The effect of economic crimes is worse in African countries due to their weak economic structures, corruption, high
rates of unemployment, mass poverty and poor wealth distribution. These are pre-requisites to the thriving of
economic crimes. When the youths are unemployed and poverty threatens their very existence, they become prone
to anything that guarantees their survival. Thus in most cases, Internet scam, AFF and drug trafficking become their
most viable options. Similarly, when corruption has eaten into the fabric of a nation, economic crimes like
embezzlement of public funds, money laundering, tax evasion and currency trafficking become the order of the day.
In Nigeria, the menace of economic crimes has been on the increase. A lucrative stock market, a well capitalized
banking sector and a weak financial regulatory mechanism provide the suitable platform for economic crimes to
flourish. Similarly, the lack of stringent policies on corruption has encouraged a lot of politicians and government
officials to embezzle public funds without fear of ramifications. Several politicians and government officials have been
indicted for embezzlement of public funds within the last decade (Ribadu, 2010:4).Additionally, illegal oil bunkering
and pipeline vandalism are reported on regular basis leading to reduction in crude oil output. Furthermore, incidences
of AFF and internet scam have persisted in the last decade. These illegal economic activities have impacted
negatively on the Nigerian economy and her international image. One of the cumulative effects this has on Nigeria is
the reduction in FDI and disruption of economic development. These have had a direct impact on Nigeria’s national
security (ibid:5). According to AS Mukhtar (2007:4), threats to Nigeria’s national security include border conflicts, bad governance,
ethnic conflicts, militancy, underdevelopment and corruption such as economic and financial crimes. Thus, the rate of
economic crime imposes real threats to the national security of the country.
The fight against economic crime in not new in Nigeria, yet this phenomenon has continued to spread its tentacles
across every sector of the economy. Though economic crimes cannot be completely eradicated from the society, its
frequency can be greatly reduced through organized planning and calculated measures. Accordingly, several anticorruption agencies have been set up to combat economic and financial crimes in Nigeria. Some of these agencies
are the EFCC, ICPC, NDLEA and NAPTIP among others. The activities of these agencies have raised hope that economic crimes can be curtailed in Nigeria. The World Bank in 2006, ranked Nigeria among 26 countries that risked collapse as a result of bad governance, corruption and high rate of economic crimes (Alobo, 2006:62). Economic crimes erode the integrity of the financial institutions and discourage FDI. These are serious challenges to the Nigerian economy that could undermine her national security. It is against this background that this researcher is motivated to embark on the study of the effects of economic crimes on national security and the challenges they constitute to the anti-corruption agencies in Nigeria.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Economic crimes have been in existence since colonial times. Initially limited in scope and accorded little importance,
economic crimes started generating public concern in Nigeria from about 1984 when a decree specifying among
others, the death penalty for drug traffickers was promulgated and backdated. Two citizens found guilty retroactively
were subsequently executed thereby attracting public awareness among the populace about an otherwise little known
crime
ECONOMIC CRIMES AND NATIONAL SECURITY CHALLENGES FOR NIGERIA