The Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Abdulkarim Chukkol has reiterated the commitment of the Commission to the effective operation of the West African Police Information System, WAPIS, programme, describing it as timely and extremely important.
He made the disclosure in Abuja on Tuesday, September 19, 2023 while receiving a delegation of the International Criminal Police Organization INTERPOL/ WAPIS at the Corporate Headquarters of the EFCC, in Jabi, Abuja.
According to him, information sharing is vital to tackling cross- border crimes and the EFCC would always key into such initiatives. "WAPIS is timely. We key into it and will continue to support its activities. Crimes are multinational. We tend to see people move from place to place, committing all kinds of crime. WAPIS will surely help in tackling cross- border fraud ", he said.
WAPIS' Desk Officer at the EFCC, Assistant Commander of the EFCC, Chief Superintendent of the EFCC, CSE Abdulmajeed Ibrahim, identified connectivity and difficulty of uploading data into the WAPIS network as some challenges needing immediate attention. “Our major challenge is connectivity. We are still working on the system we have here. We are seeking opportunities to always upload mass data", he said.
In his response, head of the delegation, Bruno Samezima, thanked the EFCC for its support in the implementation of WAPIS programme, stressing that the Commission, as an important law enforcement agency, would find WAPIS useful in its works. "We expect the WAPIS would be used by the EFCC to support the exercise of its activities and mandate and even share information with other law enforcement agencies", he said.
On the issue of connectivity, a member of the delegation Superintendent of Police, SP Evans Makana promised that the technical team was ready to offer more assistance.
Other INTERPOL/ WAPIS officers on Samezima's delegation to the EFCC, include: Mohammed Yansaneh, Richard Gotwe, Mustapha Sadiq, among others.
Media & Publicity
19/09/2023