By Ola Olukoyede The past 34 months have been a period of work, commitment and passionate engagement in the fight against economic and financial crimes and other acts of corruption.
By Ola Olukoyede
The past 34 months have been a period of work, commitment and passionate engagement in the fight against economic and financial crimes and other acts of corruption.
I took on this assignment with a clear commitment to do things differently. At my confirmation before the National Assembly, I outlined a three pronged agenda as the anchor of my stewardship. To the glory of God, we have kept faith with the agenda of proper focusing on the mandate of the EFCC in the overall interests of Nigerians, using the instrumentality of the anti-graft war to stimulate growth in the economy, adherence to the rule of law, commitment to transactional credits, building the image of Nigeria and optimizing foreign direct investments.
The past 34 months have been a period of sustained enforcement, institutional reform, prosecution, asset recovery, restitution and stronger collaboration at home and abroad. Today, I want to place before Nigerians the measurable outcomes of that work, what those outcomes mean for our economy and financial system, and the direction in which the Commission is moving.
Global Outlook
Let me begin with enforcement.
Between October 2023 and July 2026, the Commission received 49,673 petitions, investigated 39,615 cases, filed 14,476 cases in court and secured 10,872 convictions. This gives a conviction-to-filing ratio of 75.1 per cent. In the first half of 2026 alone, we recorded 1,370 convictions from 1,889 filings.
These results reflect diligence, resilience and a prosecutorial approach anchored on evidence and courtroom outcomes.
What the Data Say:
Data from petitions and case analysis provides an indication of the shifting trends in the financial crime threat landscape. Our 2024 to 2026 year-to-date category data recorded 46,288 offences across nine major typologies. Advance fee fraud and cybercrime together, represented nearly two-thirds of recorded offences. However, between 2024 and 2025, total recorded offences rose by 24.1 per cent, with notable increases in procurement fraud, bank fraud, cybercrime and economic-governance offences.
This tells us something important:
The fight against economic and financial crime is not only about grand corruption. Every day, we are protecting citizens, businesses and institutions from fraud, cyber-enabled crime and other forms of economic exploitation.
Accountability without Status Exception:
We have, at the same time, continued to pursue complex and high-profile matters without regard to status. Our high-profile case portfolio spans former governors, ministers and other public office holders, heads of agencies, financial-sector operators and corporate officials. (Please find details in the document that would be distributed)
Recently, the Commission secured convictions of some high profile Nigerians including Saleh Mamman, Robert Orya, and Chukwunyere Nwabuoku.
Our Commitment:
The principle is simple: no office or title places anyone beyond the reach of the law. We will continue to investigate professionally, prosecute on the strength of evidence and allow the courts to determine guilt or innocence.
Specialised Enforcement Portfolio – Money Laundering, BDCs, Virtual Assets, etc
Our specialised enforcement portfolio further demonstrates the breadth of this work. Across money laundering, unlicensed bureaux de change, illegal mining, virtual assets and terrorist financing, the Commission recorded 920 cases, with 212 convictions secured and a substantial active pipeline of investigations and prosecutions. Money laundering and unlicensed bureau de change cases account for the largest share of this portfolio. We are also responding to emerging risks in virtual assets and illicit financial flows from the extractive sector.
Asset Recovery
Asset recovery has been another major pillar of our stewardship. Between 1 October 2023 and 30 June 2026, the Commission recorded recoveries of ₦1,233,612,040,411.11, $684,478,457.32, £373,905.78, €9,343,803.66 in addition to recoveries in other currencies.
Of the naira amount, approximately ₦397.26 billion (33%) represented direct recoveries for the Federal Government, while ₦836.34 billion (67%) represented indirect recoveries made on behalf of ministries, departments and agencies, state revenue services, companies, individuals and foreign victims. Two out of every three naira recovered, were on behalf of beneficiaries other than the Federal Government.
Where is the Money? Many listening to me might ask this question.
Recovery is only truly meaningful when value is returned to the public interest and to rightful beneficiaries. During the period, ₦661.32 billion and US$492.37 million were released to beneficiaries. The naira releases included about ₦325.35 billion paid directly to individuals and corporate bodies.
Similarly, ₦335.97 billion was released to various MDA’s, Nigerian Revenue Service and States internal revenue services, alongside releases to other public institutions, companies and individuals.
Our continuing priority is to make restitution faster, more transparent and more efficient.
Recovery Delivers Fiscal Value to Federal and Subnational Governments
There is also a significant revenue-mobilisation dimension to our work. Federal and state tax recoveries amounted to approximately ₦288.1 billion over the period, including about ₦173.2 billion in federal tax recoveries and ₦114.9 billion attributed to States’ Internal Revenue Services.
This is fiscal value recovered through enforcement of existing obligations, not through the imposition of new taxes. In addition, approximately ₦257.2 billion in naira recoveries were recorded for federal ministries, departments and agencies, demonstrating how anti-corruption enforcement can reinforce the revenue capacity of the government.
The national impact of recovery is perhaps clearest when proceeds of crime are converted into productive social investment. In August 2024, the Federal Government directed that ₦50 billion each be allocated to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation from proceeds of crime recovered by the EFCC. Further NELFUND and Credit Corp funding from EFCC recoveries (50 Billion Naira each) was subsequently approved in 2026. When recovered criminal value helps finance education and household credit, enforcement moves beyond punishment to restoration and productive national use.
A recovered property, NOK University was converted to a Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, Kaduna State. A total of 1,909 students matriculated into the university in December 2025. These are students who ordinarily would not have been afforded the opportunity of tertiary education. We can also imagine the impact of the institution on the local economy of Southern Kaduna. In addition, another Private university of High-Value has just been finally forfeited to the Federal Government.
Taken together, these outcomes tell a larger story. Anti-corruption enforcement can restore fiscal space, strengthen federal and sub-national revenue, return working capital to institutions, companies and citizens, support financial-market integrity, protect the extractive and digital economies and strengthen Nigeria’s international credibility.
It also produces a deterrence dividend: every successful prosecution and every asset stripped from criminal enterprise reduces the expected cost of economic crime.
Beyond cash, the Commission secured the forfeiture of 10,053 tangible assets under interim and final court orders between October 2023 and July 2026.
These included 8,198 electronic items, 1,177 real-estate assets, 370 automobiles, 251 plots of land, as well as schools, factories, hotels, shops, oil rigs, barges, machinery and aircraft. We also recorded the forfeiture of 102 tonnes of solid minerals.
Proceeds from disposal under final forfeiture orders amounted to approximately ₦12.07 billion and were paid to the Federal Government.
Restoring the Integrity of Nigeria’s Financial System / Exit from Grey List
Our work has equally contributed to improving the integrity of Nigeria’s financial system. Sustained enforcement in money laundering, terrorist financing, asset freezing and confiscation, virtual assets and other higher-risk sectors formed part of Nigeria’s wider national effort to address deficiencies in the anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism framework.
Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force Grey List in October 2025 was a national achievement, and the Commission’s casework and enforcement activities formed part of that collective effort.
In the foreign-exchange market, our enforcement against unlicensed bureaux de change reinforces the regulatory reforms by the Central Bank of Nigeria. The Commission recorded 234 BDC cases and 73 convictions within the last three years. The overarching objective is to support a more formal, transparent and compliant retail foreign-exchange market and close channels vulnerable to illicit finance, speculation and round tripping. This has improved macroeconomic stability with long-term benefits for the average citizen.
Collaboration
The milestones recorded by the Commission over the past three years may not have been possible without the support of our partners. Organised crime is increasing in sophistication and cut across national borders and jurisdiction, thus requiring the cooperation of international law enforcement organisations.
At the EFCC, collaboration is central to our mandate. Domestically, we work with law-enforcement agencies, regulators, the judiciary, ministries, departments and agencies, and state revenue authorities. Internationally, our cooperation extends to partners including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, INTERPOL and other National & International law-enforcement agencies. Our recoveries span multiple currencies and jurisdictions, and we have returned recovered assets to foreign entities and individuals.
At the sub regional level, I was re-elected President of the Network of National Anti-corruption Institutions in West Africa, NACIWA, for another term of three years. With heads of anti-corruption agencies in West Africa as members, NACIWA has become a platform for regional dialogue on asset recovery, financial crimes enforcement and institutional strengthening in the sub region.
Reform and Restructuring
At the institutional level, there is consequential improvement in our processes and procedures, which partly explain the impact we have made and continue to make in all the matrices of law enforcement.
Reforms that have strengthened the Commission during the period include new guidelines on arrest and bail, a review of sting operations, the establishment of the Department of Fraud Risk Assessment and Control, the Security Department, the Immigration and Visa Section and the Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre.
In addition, we commissioned the Enugu and Ilorin Directorates and established new Directorates in Ekiti, Anambra and Katsina States, which has improved citizens’ access to the Commission.
We also instituted policies on gifts and hospitality, conflict of interest and exhibit-room security. We have re-named and re-structured the Internal Affairs Department to the Ethics and Integrity Department to reflect our commitment to internal cleansing.
At the same time, we are investing heavily in digitalization projects. At the moment, almost 60% of our processes and operations have been digitalized.
Continuing investment in innovation and digitisation, the new Academy and EFCC 24/7 Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre (E-C2R2) as a strategic response to the growing complexity of cyber-enabled financial crimes and EFCC Radio.
Gentlemen of the Press, it is clear from my presentation that we are not merely counting arrests or announcing recoveries. Our responsibility is to convert information and intelligence into prevention, petitions into investigations, investigations into prosecutions, prosecutions into convictions, recoveries into restitution, and enforcement into measurable national value. We have made significant progress, but the work is not finished. It continues with renewed determination.
As we look ahead, our priorities are clear: deepen prevention, ensure faster restitution, invest in better investigative technology and improved professionalism in our engagement with citizens. We will intensify the fight against corruption and economic crime with respect for due process and unrelenting focus on measurable value for the public.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I want to thank all stakeholders, especially Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria, and members of the National Assembly, the judiciary, the civil society, the media, and the Nigerian public, for supporting the work of the Commission. We will never take your trust and confidence for granted.
*Being text of the briefing by Ola Olukoyede, Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, on his three-year stewardship
