.Says oil cartel entrenched, difficult to crush
CYRIL MBAH, Abuja
The former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Alhaji Abdulrasheed Bawa, has released a groundbreaking new book titled ‘The Shadow of Loot and Losses: Uncovering Nigeria’s Petroleum Subsidy Fraud’.
This powerful exposure provides the most authoritative account yet of Nigeria’s multi-trillion-naira fuel subsidy scandal, beaming the light that unraveled the inner intrigues in one of Nigeria’s most pervasive financial crimes.
Drawing from his firsthand experience as a key investigator on the EFCC special team that probed the 2012 subsidy fraud, Bawa reveals the staggering scale, complexity, and audacity of the schemes used to siphon public funds through certain actors in the petroleum industry under the guise of fuel subsidy payments.
The insider narrative chronicles how billions of naira were recovered and several culprits brought to justice, while also shedding light on how entrenched corruption allowed the fraud to flourish for years under the watch of carefree presidents.
In the book, published by CableBooks, an imprint of Cable Media & Publishing Limited, Bawa detailed multiple fraudulent strategies used by the unscrupulous actors including: Ghost importing or over-invoicing, whereby companies submitted claims for fuel that was never imported or inflated shipment volumes to receive excessive subsidy payouts.
Others are the manipulation of bills of lading, which involves altering shipping documents, and the exploitation of international price fluctuations by fraudsters to claim higher subsidies.
Bawa also mentioned round-tripping and double claims, whereby single shipments were often used to obtain multiple subsidy payments.
Others included diversion and smuggling, whereby subsidised fuel was frequently diverted to black markets or smuggled out of Nigeria for profit.
The listed malpractices, Bawa explained, were enabled using forged documents, weak regulatory oversight, and systemic collusion between corrupt government officials and private sector actors.
“The Shadow of Loot and Losses is not just a chronicle of fraud,” said Bawa, “It is a call to action — a demand for transparency, accountability, and reform in Nigeria’s public finance management, especially in the oil sector.”
Having served as EFCC chairman from 2021 to 2023, Bawa brings rare credibility and insight into the institutional challenges and political dynamics that have shaped the anti-corruption fight in Nigeria.
His book was described as “both a revelation and a reckoning — offering evidence-based analysis and personal reflections on one of the most controversial chapters in Nigeria’s recent history.”
The Shadow of Loot and Losses will become essential reading for policymakers, civil society advocates, journalists, and citizens interested in understanding how systemic fraud undermines development and how it can be confronted. The book will be distributed nationwide by Roving Heights Bookstore.
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