The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has tackled the protesting bidders alleging irregularities in the car auctioning recently held in different locations across the country.

This development is coming on the heels of the conclusion of the exercise, which lasted between Monday, January 20 and Monday, January 27, 2025.

Upon conclusion, bidders shared screenshots on various social media showing outrageous amounts as bids, leaving room for many of them to back out on some of the deals.

The bidding ranged from N1 billion to N330 billion for mid-range and averagely sophisticated Lexus jeeps and SUVs.

Reacting, one user who identified as Daniel Momoh on X.com shared his frustrations, saying, ?Dear @officialEFCC, it is a pity that you and your auctioneers cheated us out of a legitimate process we engaged in yesterday where I won four different vehicles, namely: Toyota Venza ? 2,670,000; Lexus ES350 ? 2,000,000; Lexus IS250 ? 2,520,000 and Toyota ? Camry ? 1,500,000.

?I woke up this morning to see that my name has been replaced with another name, which blocked me from assessing the website via the account I opened before the bidding.?

Another user, who identified as #Kennylekel, wrote, ?EFCC, the website for the official auction for the cars, suddenly brought out error 502 about 43 minutes to the end of the auction!! We hope it is not intentional to select your preferred bidders. I have been bidding since 11 am. Kindly respond.

One CIA on X.com also said, ?This is just to fulfil all righteousness and to do some damage control. The cars listed here have been sold to their staff and cronies for very small sums. If you eventually buy it over from them, you?ll also be suspected and arrested for being a fraudster.?

?The auction you conducted yesterday was a sham! In a bid to rig the system, the incompetent auctioneers you engaged allowed a bid of N350,000,000,000 for a Lexus RX 350 Jeep. It?s not a glitch. It?s a deliberate attempt to gate-keep others from bidding,? a user who identifies as Baron El?Sama opined.

Also, a user on X.com said, ?I?ve just seen magic happen right before my eyes. A C300 with lot number ADC/BEN/AU/98 that I bid on and won at N5,570,001 just vanished from the auction site. EFCC, una well done.?

In his remark, a user on Facebook who identifies as Aromeh Joshua said, ?EFCC auction: Checked two of the Lagos Auctioneers, and their website is (Resource Limit is Reached) temporarily unavailable. A few were hurriedly put together.?

Another user who wrote with name, Hafiz Bawa, on X.com wrote, ?Dear @officialEFCC, I am reporting alleged fraudulent activity earlier today during the motor vehicle auction that raises serious concerns about fairness and integrity. It appears that the highest bidder and a ?short bidder? colluded to manipulate the auction.

?The highest bidder placed excessively high bids to inflate the price, knowing they would not pay. Under the auction terms, this allowed the short bidder, who had the second-highest bid, to win at an inflated price. This tactic disadvantaged legitimate bidders and exploited the rules, undermining the auction?s fairness. I urge an immediate investigation into this matter.?

?I have seen seven people come out here to accuse the @officialEFCC of committing fraud through this auction. I have yet to see anyone come out to say they actually got the car they bid for. And yet, the Institution isn?t addressing the crime that has been carried out. We need to do better,? one user who identifies as Tchalla Kingsman noted.

?Those that are alleging non-transparency are just being economical with the truth. The auction process was electronic and open bidding. There is no way of any extraneous influence or intervention. The allgation is unfounded, it can neither be supported by fact nor logic. Everybody that participated gave a remark that they were able to get; some even said they were outbid.?

Reacting to the allegations in a telephone conversation, EFCC?s spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, said the agency has no hand in the process because the auction procedure was handed over to government-licenced auctioneers.

He maintained that some people could have bid outrageous money to frustrate the process, stressing that it might be deliberate sabotage.

?It is between the auctioneers and the bidding public, it has nothing to do with us. We did not interfere in any of the processes at all,? he noted.

He further challenged the public to bring proof of compromise, adding that not even his close ones could get his influence to secure a vehicle in the auctioning process.

Recall that last week Monday, the commission listed over 850 cars forfeited to the Federal Government for auction across different locations in the country.

The cars, ranging from luxury vehicles to mid-range Toyota Camry, were recovered by the EFCC in the course of investigations into various financial crimes, including corruption, money laundering, and cybercrime.

EFCC explained that the auction was in line with the EFCC (Establishment) Act, 2004, Public Procurement Act, 2007 and the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery & Management) Act, 2022.

The auction, according to the statement, is scheduled to be held in various locations across the country, including Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Kano, and will be executed by the EFCC in collaboration with appointed auctioneers.

According to the statement, the commission has called on interested members of the public to participate in the auction, promising that the process will be transparent and fair. (The PUNCH)

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