Abdulrasheed Bawa Unveils Explosive Book on Nigeria’s Fuel Subsidy Fraud

Abdulrasheed Bawa Unveils Explosive Book on Nigeria’s Fuel Subsidy Fraud

Jerry Adesewo

Former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, has released a revealing new book titled “The Shadow of Loot & Losses: Uncovering Nigeria’s Petroleum Subsidy Fraud.”

The publication, issued under CableBooks, an imprint of Cable Media & Publishing Ltd., offers the most comprehensive and insider account yet of Nigeria’s long-standing fuel subsidy crisis.

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Drawing directly from his time as a lead investigator on the EFCC’s special team that probed the 2012 fuel subsidy fraud, Bawa’s book lifts the veil on the sophisticated strategies and institutional rot that enabled the siphoning of billions of naira from public coffers in the guise of fuel subsidy payments.

According to Bawa, the scandal was not only far-reaching in its financial impact, but was also structurally enabled by regulatory weaknesses, systemic collusion, and fraudulent manipulation at multiple levels. The book details key fraudulent practices including:

• Ghost Importing and Over-Invoicing: Companies falsely claimed subsidies for non-existent fuel imports or grossly inflated volumes.
• Manipulation of Bills of Lading: Shipping documents were doctored to reflect higher prices or false import data, inflating subsidy claims.
• Round-Tripping and Duplicate Claims: A single fuel shipment was used to secure multiple payments from government funds.
• Diversion and Smuggling: Subsidised fuel intended for the domestic market was diverted to illegal black markets or smuggled across borders.

“These were not isolated incidents of fraud,” Bawa writes. “This was a complex web of corruption, nurtured by official complicity and weak oversight. It was the industrialisation of fraud.”

In addition to exposing the inner workings of subsidy theft, Bawa chronicles the EFCC’s efforts under his watch to prosecute key actors, recover funds, and strengthen institutional capacity to track financial crimes. He recounts how billions of naira were eventually recovered and how the scandal reshaped Nigeria’s political and economic conversation on accountability.

“The Shadow of Loot & Losses is not just a chronicle of fraud,” Bawa says in the foreword. “It is a call to action — a demand for transparency, accountability, and reform in Nigeria’s public finance management, especially in the oil sector.”

Bawa’s tenure as EFCC Chairman from 2021 to 2023 saw renewed momentum in the country’s anti-corruption crusade. This book, his first major publication since leaving office, doubles as both a personal testimony and a policy blueprint for reforming subsidy administration, strengthening financial oversight, and insulating public institutions from elite capture.

The publication comes at a time when Nigeria is re-evaluating the role and structure of fuel subsidies following their controversial removal in 2023. Bawa’s account, based on firsthand documentation and investigations, offers unique insight into why reforms failed for so long and what it would take to ensure they succeed now.

Described by reviewers as “brutally honest,” “methodically documented,” and “deeply instructive,” the book is expected to resonate across government institutions, civil society, academia, and among citizens concerned about Nigeria’s economic future.

The Shadow of Loot & Losses is available nationwide through RovingHeights Bookstore and other major retailers.

Abdulrasheed Bawa Unveils Explosive Book on Nigeria’s Fuel Subsidy Fraud