Former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, has made damning revelations about the scale and sophistication of corruption perpetrated under Nigeria’s fuel subsidy regime.
In his newly released book, The Shadow of Loot & Losses: Uncovering Nigeria’s Petroleum Subsidy Fraud, Bawa pulls back the curtain on how billions of naira in public funds were siphoned through a web of fraudulent claims, document forgery, and systemic collusion.
Drawing from his direct experience as a lead investigator in the EFCC’s probe of the infamous 2012 fuel subsidy scandal, Bawa details how oil marketers manipulated the system by submitting claims for fuel that was never imported and inflating shipment volumes to secure excessive subsidy payouts.
He also exposes how fraudsters exploited international pricing fluctuations by falsifying shipping documents, particularly bills of lading, to inflate subsidy claims. Among the deceptive practices highlighted in the book are round-tripping, diversion, smuggling, double claims, and the use of forged documents — all facilitated by weak regulatory oversight and the complicity of corrupt government officials.
“Single shipments were often used to obtain multiple subsidy payments. Subsidised fuel was frequently diverted to black markets or smuggled across borders for profit,” Bawa writes.
According to Bawa, the fuel subsidy scheme became one of Nigeria’s most pervasive financial crimes, resulting in trillions of naira in public losses over the years. His book not only chronicles the fraud but serves as a bold call for systemic reform in the management of Nigeria’s oil revenues.
The Shadow of Loot & Losses comes at a critical time in Nigeria’s fiscal history. The issue of fuel subsidies has long been controversial. In 2012, former President Goodluck Jonathan’s attempt to remove the subsidy triggered nationwide protests under the banner of the “Occupy Nigeria” movement. At the time, the Federal Government reported spending over ₦259 billion on subsidy payments between 2011 and 2012 alone.
In a decisive shift, President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of the fuel subsidy during his inauguration in May 2023. Speaking in March 2025 at the inauguration of the Planning Committee for the National Youth Conference, Tinubu reiterated that the removal was necessary to safeguard the country’s economic future.
“Every decision that I have taken is about you. It’s about the future. When we removed the fuel subsidy, it was because we wanted to protect your future. We have cleared the path for you to have a great future,” he said.
Bawa’s revelations add renewed urgency to the call for transparency, accountability, and reforms in Nigeria’s oil sector—an industry that remains central to the nation’s economy but riddled with historical abuse.
