No fewer than 40 staff members of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, were dismissed for corruption and financial malpractice within the last three years, the Chairman of the Commission, Mr. Ola Olukoyede has disclosed.
Olukoyede made the disclosure on Monday in Abuja during a media interactive session held at the commission’s headquarters to mark his three-year stewardship at the agency.
He revealed that no fewer than five of the affected personnel are currently being prosecuted, while case files involving others are being prepared for trial.
“In the past two and a half to three years of my service, I have asked them to dismiss over 40 staff on account of corruption and financial malpractice. More than five of them are being prosecuted at the moment,” he said.
“You can follow those cases in court; they are public knowledge. If that is what people do in other agencies and I arrest them, I investigate them, I prosecute them, why must I just dismiss you if you do it within our own system and I’m not prosecuting you?” he queried.
Internal Cleansing Measures
The EFCC boss said the disciplinary measures were part of deliberate efforts to hold the commission’s personnel to the same standards of accountability the agency demands from other Nigerians.
“You must be sure that your hands are clean. You can’t be fighting corruption when your hands are soiled with corrupt practices,” he said.
As part of the internal reforms, Olukoyede announced the renaming of the commission’s Internal Affairs Department to the Department of Ethics and Integrity, describing it as a step in the agency’s “internal cleansing” drive.
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He said the commission had also introduced a gift policy to strengthen transparency and prevent conflicts of interest. Under the policy, staff are required to declare gifts above a specified value, including those received from friends and relatives at home and abroad. The policy also defines categories of gifts personnel can accept and requires officers to account for their sources of income and standard of living.
Tackling Virtual Asset Crimes
On emerging financial crimes, the chairman disclosed that about 40 virtual asset platforms had been licensed in Nigeria, adding that the commission now has the capacity to trace registered wallets.
He said with presidential approval, the EFCC and relevant agencies had created a national confiscation wallet for storing seized cryptocurrencies.
“One of the problems we used to have was: where do you put confiscated virtual assets? Today, we have a national wallet that we put them into,” he said.
Shift to Civil Asset Forfeiture
On legal strategy, Olukoyede said the commission was leveraging Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud Act to pursue civil asset forfeiture rather than wait for lengthy criminal trials.
“This is faster and quicker than criminal trial. We don’t have to wait 10, 15 years when witnesses die and assets are dissipated,” he said.
He explained that under the civil process, the commission can file action directly against an asset, and whoever claims ownership must also explain the source of funds, noting that the approach had yielded results in several ongoing cases involving assets traced to former officials.
Asset Management Reforms
The chairman clarified that the EFCC does not manage forfeited assets directly but appoints professionals in line with the Proceeds of Crime Act 2022.
“For real estate, we have estate managers. For virtual assets, we have stock market professionals. For a radio station, we call broadcast experts,” he said.
He disclosed that the commission had begun disposing of assets depreciating under litigation, with proceeds kept in escrow accounts pending court determination. He added that some high-profile hotels recently forfeited in Lagos now operate under new management, with banks directed to remit all sales and income to the EFCC.
Olukoyede also said a dedicated Process and Proceeds Management (PCM) directorate had been established to oversee all forfeited assets.
Call for Institutional Reforms
The EFCC chairman reiterated his call for stronger policy and institutional reforms, stressing that law enforcement alone cannot win the war against financial crime.
“The most effective system that fights financial crime is not law enforcement. It is the policy regime — institutional reforms that close leakages,” he said.
He also urged the media and civil society to return to their traditional watchdog roles in support of the anti-corruption fight.
NAN
