Ex-EFCC Boss, Bawa Makes Shocking Revelations On Fuel Subsidy Fraud

Former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, has revealed corrupt practices used to siphon public funds under the guise of fuel subsidy payments.

Bawa revealed this in his book, titled ‘The Shadow of Loot & Losses: Uncovering Nigeria’s Petroleum Subsidy Fraud’.

The former head of the anti-graft agency chronicled how billions of naira were embezzled through ghost importing and over-invoicing as companies submitted claims for fuel that was never imported or inflated shipment volumes to receive excessive subsidy payouts.

The book exposes Nigeria’s multi-trillion-naira fuel subsidy scandal, unraveling the inner workings of one of the country’s most pervasive financial crimes.

While drawing from his firsthand experience as a key investigator on the EFCC’s special team that probed the 2012 subsidy fraud, Bawa revealed the complexity and audacity of the corrupt schemes used.

Another form adopted by the perpetrators of the subsidy fraud, as revealed in the book, is the manipulation of bills of lading, where fraudsters exploited international price fluctuations to claim higher subsidies by altering shipping documents.

Other sharp practices exposed by Bawa, who served as the EFCC chairman from 2021 to 2023, are round-tripping, double claims, diversion, and smuggling.

Bawa explained that the practices were boosted by forged documents, weak regulatory oversight, and systemic collusion between corrupt government officials and private sector actors.

“Single shipments were often used to obtain multiple subsidy payments. Subsidised fuel was frequently diverted to black markets or smuggled out of Nigeria for profit.

“The Shadow of Loot And Losses is not just a chronicle of fraud; it is a call to action — a demand for transparency, accountability, and reform in Nigeria’s public finance management, especially in the oil sector,” he said.

Gistmania recalls that in 2012, the planned removal of the fuel subsidy by the then administration of President Goodluck Jonathan sparked a nationwide protest by Nigerians, led by the ‘Occupy Nigeria movement.’

The Federal Government, in September 2012, said it paid a total of N259, 339, 041, 657.85 as subsidy claims between 2011 and 2012.

Gistmania reports that at his inauguration in May 2023, President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of fuel subsidy.

The President, while speaking during the inauguration of the Planning Committee for the National Youth Conference at the State House, Abuja, in March 2025, said that his decision to remove the fuel subsidy was in the interest of Nigerian youths and their future.

“Every decision that I have taken is about you. It’s about the future. When we removed the fuel subsidy, it was because we wanted to protect your future.
“We have cleared the path for you to have a great future,” Tinubu said.