The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Barrister Ola Olukoyede, reasserts his commitment to wage the war against corruption and financial crimes to the end as long as he presides over the affairs of the commission, amid threats from various affected quarters
By Innocent Chukwu
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has reaffirmed its commitment to revolutionize the war against economic sabotage in the country under the Chairmanship of Ola Olukoyede. The Commission condemned the activities of some of its unscrupulous internal elements who, by their nefarious acts, try to frustrate the goal of the anti-graft agency under its current administration, to bring sanity into the economy.
Speaking during a recent interview, the EFCC Chair, Olukoyede, said the major problem facing the Commission under his leadership was internal sabotage for which 27 staff was fired in 2024 for acts related to gross misconduct including and not limited to fraud, overzealousness and notoriety.
He disclosed that more staff may be fired in 2025 if found wanting in order to entrench transparency in the war against economic sabotage. For this reason, Olukoyede said he chose to declare his assets and also ensured that the staff of the agency did same. But responding to the call by some citizens on him to make public names of the dismissed staff, the EFCC Chair said as a lawyer he would not declare their names because such action may be counterproductive as not all of them were fired because of fraud. Hence the Commission chose to protect the identities of the erring staff to avoid tarnishing their names, litigation, and also to enable some of them to secure other jobs in future.
“The major problem we have in the Commission is internal. Because of it I declared my assets and urged my staff to do so. 27 members of our staff were fired last year for gross misconduct, not just fraud but for overzealousness and notoriety. This year we’re going to fire more staff because of fraud because people are trying to frustrate whatever we’re doing internally. We want to entrench transparency in our operations.
“People were telling us to publish their names but they don’t understand how we operate. I’m a lawyer, and not all of them committed fraud. Some were fired for misconduct such as overzealousness and notoriety, if you publish the names of such people, they may go to court against you for defamation.
“You also have to protect these people because if you make their names public, remember that some of them can still secure jobs in other organizations, but when you declare their identities, you have tarnished their names. That’s why we declined to declare their identities”, the EFCC Chair said.
Speaking on his desire to make a big difference in the fight against corruption, Olukoyede hinted that he was not unmindful of the booby traps on his path, insisting that he did not come to the EFCC to make money but to sanitize the system, hence he does not regard his job at the Commission as a career.
According to him, “I work minimum of 20 hours every day. I don’t see my job as a career, I didn’t come to make money.
“I doubt if there’s any shrine in Nigeria they have not taken my name to because to recover even one billion Naira is war. So, I don’t socialize because I know the danger”.
Olukoyede took a swipe at the Money Deposit Banks (MDBs) operating in the country, alleging that the banks were accomplices in major financial frauds that took place in the country. He alleged that while the nation’s economy was bleeding, MDBs were declaring billions of Naira profit every year. The EFCC Chair disclosed that the agency has beamed its searchlight on the banks because they were fully involved in money laundering.
Olukoyede: “No major fraud took place in our system without the connivance of banks. A particular bank took N70 from all its customers’ accounts without any reason which amounted to the tune of N700 million. When the report got to me, I confronted the bank and they said it was a mistake.
“I have recovered the money. Our economy is dying and banks are recording billions of Naira profit. Banks are fully involved in money laundering, so we have taken on banks.
“But we don’t make too much noise about the bank frauds because of their impact on the economy”.
Furthermore, the EFCC boss defended the Commission against the allegation that it only goes after politicians and other public figures who criticize President Bola Ahmed Tinubu government in order to silent opposing voices to Federal Government. Citing the recent arrest of the Bauchi State Accountant General Sirajo Jaja and two others, Olukoyede argued that it was a coincidence. Jaja was arrested in Abuja on Wednesday, March 19, 2025 by operatives of the EFCC alongside a Bureau De Change (BDC) operator, Aliyu Abubakar of Jasfad Resources Enterprises and a Point of Sale (POS) operator, Sanusi Sambo. Their arrest was in connection with alleged money laundering, diversion of public funds and misappropriation of the state’s fund to the tune of N70 billion.
A few months ago, Bala Mohammed the Bauchi State governor and the Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum had come hard on the Federal Government’s Taxi Reform Bills, and argued that if passed into law by the National Assembly, they would incite anarchy in the Northern Nigerian region. Mohammed had told a visiting religious audience to wit: “We will continue to be loyal for the time being. If the situation persists, they will see our real colour; we are going to fight for it”.
Shedding light on the Bauchi State case, Olukoyede who was taken aback by the critics of the EFCC over Jaja’s arrest for N56.4 billion, insisted that there was alleged money laundering case established against Jaja, but the EFCC action only coincided with Mohammed’s criticism of President Tinubu.
According to the Commission’s Chair, “If you steal money, I’ll go after you, I don’t care the party you belong to. If you’re APC, PDP or Labour Party, whenever you steal public money I’ll come after you when the evidence is there”.
Meanwhile, the Commission said it tried hard to achieve its goals for the year 2024. In a brief account of its stewardship in the year under review, the EFCC said it made numerous recoveries which included N364.5 billion, $214.5 million, £54,318.64 among other currencies recovered.
Of these currencies recovered, the Commission said to avoid re-looting, N50 billion was channeled to the National Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and another N50 billion as loan facility to civil servants to acquire houses and cars. The funds were released for the loans after the Commission had got approval from the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
It is expected, according to the EFCC, that up to 10,000 civil servants would benefit from the low-interest loan which would be repaid over a long period of 25 years. The loan is intended to dissuade the looting of public till by civil servants whom the Commission alleged that they may have been stealing public funds even more than the politicians.
