A former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, has revealed how Nigeria lost a staggering N16.5 trillion to fraudulent fuel subsidy payments over 25 years.
Speaking on the corrupt practices that flourished from 1999 to 2023, Bawa exposed how public officials, ministries, agencies, and private companies exploited loopholes to siphon billions from the national treasury.
According to Bawa, the fuel subsidy scam, which persisted through four administrations — Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, Jonathan, and Buhari — involved forged documents, inflated import volumes, and double subsidy claims. “By the time President Bola Ahmed Tinubu removed the subsidy on May 29, 2023, Nigeria had already spent N16.5 trillion, much of which was stolen,” Bawa said.
The former EFCC boss detailed, “The Nigerian petroleum subsidy fraud can be explained using the fraud triangle of ‘Pressure, Opportunity and Rationalisation.’” He highlighted that “government officials were found to have either knowingly or unknowingly participated in the fraud by stamping and signing forged documents.”
Bawa cited a case where a company claimed subsidy on 12 million litres of petrol but imported only five million litres, receiving N700 million unjustly.
He stressed that the subsidy itself was not inherently bad, but “its fraudulent implementation led to the government being denied enormous resources meant for infrastructure, education and health services.”
On curbing such fraud, Bawa called for “a well-managed subsidy programme, robust monitoring mechanisms, and a justice system capable of prosecuting offenders effectively.” He urged Nigerians to “change their attitude, adhere to ethical standards, and place the nation above themselves.”
The revelations come from Bawa’s new book, The Shadow of Loot and Losses – Uncovering Nigeria’s Petrol Subsidy Fraud, which outlines the widespread corruption that drained the nation’s resources and the ongoing efforts by the EFCC to investigate and recover stolen funds.
