The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Friday, disclosed that it had received 654 petitions from Edo, Delta and Ondo states in the first one year of opening its Benin Zonal Office.

The anti-graft agency also said it had recovered N312,561,585.31 belonging to the federal government, corporate bodies and individuals.

Head of Benin Zonal Office, Mailafia Yakubu, who made the disclosure at a media briefing yesterday said 557 petitions had been approved for investigations while 64 petitions were rejected.

He explained that nine petitions were forwarded to other zones for logistic reasons, while 23 cases were sent to the Nigeria Police Force because matters raised in them were within the jurisdiction of the Police.

Yakubu, who noted that the greatest challenge facing the zone was the concealing of crimes by some parents, stated that the Commission had secured nine convictions in the last one year while 28 cases were still pending in court.

A breakdown of the recovered fund, according to Yakubu, showed that N4,209,097.96 belonged to the federal government, N147,220,600 was for corporate bodies and N161,131,887 belonged to individuals.

He added: “We have also secured the final forfeiture of a Toyota Corolla to the federal government while we are in the process of securing the interim forfeiture of two houses and three vessels used for illegal activities.”(ThisDay)