The former chairman of the anti-corruption agency, EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, has written a book on Nigeria’s fuel subsidy regime.
Published by Cable Books, the book is titled, ‘The Shadow of Loot & Losses: Uncovering Nigeria’s Petroleum Subsidy Fraud’, and will be released to the public on Thursday.
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In a statement on Wednesday, Cable Books, an imprint of Cable Media and Publishing Ltd, said the book will be distributed nationwide by Roving Heights Bookstore, starting from Thursday.
Mr Bawa led the EFCC from February 2021 until June 2023, when President Bola Tinubu forced him out of office. The State Security Services (SSS) arrested Mr Bawa at the time, and he resigned while still in custody. Although government officials accused him of wrongdoing while in office, he was never charged with any crime.
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Mr Bawa was a key investigator on the EFCC’s special team that probed the 2012 subsidy fraud.
According to a statement by the publishers, in his book, Mr Bawa reveals the staggering scale, complexity, and audacity of the schemes used to siphon public funds under the guise of fuel subsidy payments.
His 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.
Some of the strategies applied in the subsidy regime include: “Ghost importing and over-invoicing: Here, companies submitted claims for fuel that was never imported or inflated shipment volumes to receive excessive subsidy payouts.”
“Manipulation of bills of lading: By altering shipping documents, fraudsters exploited international price fluctuations to claim higher subsidies. Round-tripping and double claims: Single shipments were often used to obtain multiple subsidy payments.
Diversion and smuggling: Subsidised fuel was frequently diverted to black markets or smuggled out of Nigeria for profit.”
These practices, Mr Bawa said, were enabled by forged documents, weak regulatory oversight, and systemic collusion between corrupt government officials and private sector actors.
“His book is 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,” said Vic Akinrogunde of the CableBooks.
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“The Shadow of Loot & Losses is essential reading for policymakers, civil society advocates, journalists, and citizens interested in understanding how systemic fraud undermines development and how it can be confronted.”
On 29 May 2023, during his swearing-in ceremony, President Bola Tinubu announced the end of the petrol subsidy scheme.
In his inaugural speech last May, Mr Tinubu said: “Subsidy can no longer justify its ever-increasing costs in the wake of drying resources. We shall instead re-channel the funds into better investment in public infrastructure, education, health care, and jobs that will materially improve the lives of millions. Petrol subsidy is gone.”
The president’s announcement immediately sparked an increase in fuel prices from N197 to between N480 and N570. The pump price was subsequently reviewed upward to N617/litre and now sells for between N850 and N920 per litre.
Mr Tinubu has, however, said he would not reverse the policy on petrol subsidies removal, which his government says was used to enrich only a few individuals.
