By Augustine Ehikioya
With Ola Olukoyede being the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for two years now, the fight against economic and financial crimes have not been the same again.
He has, no doubt, taken the war to another level for the benefit of Nigeria and Nigerians.
When he took over the Commission on Thursday, October 19, 2023 Olukoyede had a clear vision of repositioning the Commission for optimal efficiency in the line with global best practices.
He pursued the vision vigorously in the last twenty four months with robust pursuit of EFCC’s mandate, creation of an atmosphere for transparency and accountability in governance.
He also prioritized preventive strategies in the anti-corruption fight, adhered strictly to the rule of law and provided better working conditions for officers and men of the Commission.
He didn’t mince words right from the onset in the Commission, guarding the officers and men of the Commission on the right path to adding impetus to the Anti-graft war.
Olukoyede had stated “We are going to drive professionalism in discharging our duties in line with the rule of law. The rule of law is going to be our guiding light.
“We are going to drive EFCC to a place where when you see EFCC personnel, you will see a touch of professionalism. We are also going to be more involved in prevention, because it is better to save money for the government than to spend money on prosecution.
“My priority is to enhance staff welfare. We will build on what we have done before and there are prospects that we will do better things for every staff of the Commission,”
With two years down the lane, even the most critical and skeptic observers believe that things are now looking up in the Commission.
They now believe that Olukoyede has indeed matched his words with actions in the past two years.
Some of the achievements and things he has done differently from his predecessors included getting 7,000 convictions in two years.
He investigated 12,928 cases out of the 15,724 petitions received in 2024.
Out of the figure investigated, the Commission charged 5,081 to court in the same year and secured 4,111 convictions.
The upsurge in the prosecution and conviction figures represented 47.70 percent and 53.74 percent increase, respectively from the 2023 figures.
Also, the total monetary recoveries in naira in the last two years stood at ₦566,319,820,343.40, while the dollar component was $411,566,192.32.
The Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering, SCUML, of the Commission, which is mandated to monitor compliance of Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions, DNFBPs with the Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations, conducted 2,348 onsite evaluations of DNFBPs in 2024.
This figure represents 1,085 increase over the 1,263, examined in the year 2023.
Olukoyede also created the Department of Fraud Risk Assessment and Control, FRAC, to drive the Commission’s fraud prevention mandate with focus on Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs
With the department in place and fully running, it has monitored financial disbursements for flagship federal government initiatives, including Pi-CNG, NG-CARES, NACA Global Fund Grants, RESET and ARMOR LOANS, and CBN COVID 19 Support Schemes.
Its evaluation of the PI-CNG Project Contract valued at N88.5 billion ensured 95 percent delivery of the buses and conversion kits.
Some of the highlights of asset forfeitures include NOK University, Kaduna, renamed Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia by the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the recovery and handing over to the federal government of Plot 109 Cadastral Zone C09, Lokogoma District, Abuja, measuring 150,462.86sqm and comprising 753 units of duplexes.
The EFCC, under Olukoyede, set both local and global real estate recovery with this feat.
Also several properties and real estates were recovered from the former CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele.
Cash recoveries from Emefiele to the federal government coffers include $2.045 million before Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos; $1.4m before Justice Ayokunle Faji of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos and N1.04 billion before Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court, Lagos.
It recovered shares valued at N246,305,544 (Two Hundred and Forty Six Thousand, Three Hundred and Five Naira, Five Hundred and Forty Four Kobo), linked to a former Managing Director of the Nigerian Army Properties Limited, NAPL, Major-General U.M. Mohammed (retd).
Showing no sign of fear for the high and mighty in the society, the EFCC is prosecuting Abdulfatah Ahmed, former Kwara State governor for alleged N5.78 billion fraud; Willie Obiano, former Anambra State governor for alleged N4billion; Theodore Orji, former governor of Abia State, for alleged N47 billion fraud; Darius Ishaku, former Taraba State governor for alleged N27billion fraud and Yahaya Bello, former Kogi State governor for alleged N80.2billion and N110.4 billion fraud.
In the same stride, EFCC under Olukoyede, is prosecuting Saleh Mamman, former Minister of Power for alleged money laundering to the tune of N33,804,830,503.73; Olu Agunloye, former Minister of Power for alleged official corruption and fraudulent award of Mambilla Power Project contract to the tune of $6billion and Hadi Sirika, former Minister of Aviation alongside his brother, Ahmad and daughter, Fatimah in two separate charges for alleged N5.8 billion and N2.8 billion fraud; Halima Buba, Director/Chief Executive Officer of SunTrust Bank Ltd, alongside Innocent Mbagwu, Executive Director/Chief Compliance Officer of the bank, for alleged money laundering to the tune of $12 million.
It also stepped up the prosecution of Colonel Sambo Dasuki (rtd), a former National Security Adviser, NSA.
He was dragged before Justice Charles Agbaza of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja on Tuesday, March 25, 2025 and was re-arraigned alongside a former General Manager of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Aminu Baba Kusa, Acacia Holdings Limited and Reliance Referral Hospital Limited on a 32-count charge, bordering on breach of trust and dishonesty to the tune of N33,200,000,000 (Thirty-three billion, Two Hundred Million Naira).
Facing prosecution for alleged money laundering, stealing and conversion of public funds to the tune of N1,488,425,629.000 (One Billion, Four Hundred and Eighty-eight Million, Four Hundred and Twenty-five Thousand, Six Hundred and Twenty-nine Naira), also is the Accountant General of Bauchi State, Sirajo Muhammad Jaja.
The EFCC also dragged Professor Usman Yusuf, former Executive Secretary, National Health Insurance Authority, before Justice Chinyere E. Nwecheonwu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Kuje, Abuja for alleged embezzlement and fraud to the tune of N90,439,178.00( Ninety Million, Four Hundred and Thirty Nine thousand, One Hundred and Seventy Eight Naira).
Olukoyede on Monday, March 18, 2024, restarted the prosecution of a former Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, chairman and ex-minister of Defence, Bello Haliru Mohammed.
The Commission dragged him before Justice Peter Lifu for his alleged role in the diversion of N300 million meant for arms procurement through the Office of the ex-NSA, Dasuki.
Awerusuo Otorudo and Chukwuebuka Ehirim, promoters of Crypto Bridge Exchange, CBEX
For this, monumental investment fraud are being prosecuted before Justice Muhammed Umar of the Federal high Court, Abuja for obtaining money by false pretence, inducement and misleading the public into a fraudulent investment.
The Commission also break another record with the busting of a syndicate of 792 suspected cryptocurrency investment and romance fraud in Lagos on December 10, 2024.
Out of the figure, 194 are nationals of China, Tunisia, Philippine, Kharzartan, and Pakistan, while all the rogue foreign nationals among them have been prosecuted and jailed.
A total of 102 who have served out their jail time have been deported as at August 15, 2025 in a synergised effort between the EFCC and the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS.
The EFCC also spread its search light to illegal mining in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector.
A shot-in-the-arm from the EFCC to the mining sector in the past two years resulted to an unprecedented number of arrests of illegal miners, convictions and forfeitures of solid minerals and mining equipment to the federal government.
On Wednesday, October 16, 2024, the EFCC secured the final forfeiture of the sum of N2,739,836,331.31 (Two Billion, Seven Hundred and Thirty-nine Million, Eight Hundred and Thirty-six Thousand, Three Hundred and Thirty-one Naira, Thirty-one Kobo), being proceeds of illegal mining of solid minerals in Endo Community of Nasarawa State before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
Moving against national currency mutilation and the dollarization of the Nigerian economy, Olukoyede in March 2024, set up a “Special Task Force against Naira Abuse and Dollarisation of the Economy” in all the Commission’s 14 Zonal directorates and the headquarters for the enforcement of laws against the crime.
The task force, through a resilient enforcement, has succeeded in changing the abusive habit of Nigerians in handling the national currency.
To this end, about 70 culprits have been convicted for the misdemeanour.
Prioritising fraud prevention, Olukoyede’s establishment of FRAC, saddled with tackling corruption in MDAs, has succeeded in plugging leakages in public offices and ensuring effective budget implementation.
Also for fraud prevention, Olukoyede set up a Visa and Immigration Fraud Unit in all the Commission’s zonal directorates and the headquarters to tackle visa and immigration fraud in the country.
The establishment of the unit became inevitable following the stream of fraud in immigration matters in the country.
His establishment of Cybercrime Research Centre in the Commission’s New Academy in Giri, Gwagwalada Area Council of the FCT is an initiative that took strong roots in his desire to entrench financial integrity in Nigeria’s cyberspace.
It is also to redirect the youth from fraudulent practices to the path of ethical values.
Getting the Commission closer to the people and to expand its geographical spread, Olukoyede also embarked on the establishment of three additional directorates in Ekiti, Katsina and Anambra States.
This move brought the Commission’s zonal directorates to 17.
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Improving officers’ rights and welfare, staff promotion under Olukoyede’s tenure now comes as and when due.
Over 500 officers were promoted to new ranks last year alone, following their successes in their promotional exam.
Officers and men of the Commission have never had it so good.
The improved earned allowances payments undertaken by Olukoyede have also added to entrenching an atmosphere of joy and secured jobs for the staff.
No doubt, Nigerian well-wishers could not desire and pray for anything less than for the defeat of economic and financial crimes, which had wickedly led to the siphoning of the common wealth of the nation.
Therefore, every hand must be on deck to defeat the monster called ‘corruption’ in Nigeria.
To this end, Olukoyede should get all the supports and cooperation he needs to completely nail the coffin of economic and financial crimes in Nigeria and make the crimes a deterrence to everyone.
