The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has revealed that the Commission is currently investigating over 20,000 cases involving economic and financial crimes across Nigeria.
Olukoyede emphasized that asset recovery is central to the EFCC’s strategy, allowing the agency to cripple financially corrupt individuals and organizations by denying them resources to resist law enforcement efforts.
During an address to the House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes on Tuesday in Abuja, Olukoyede stated that over the past year, the EFCC has been inundated with over 17,000 petitions, highlighting the scale of economic crimes in the country.
The EFCC boss further explained the agency’s investigative approach, which involves immediate asset tracing and seizure at the onset of any investigation.
“If you understand the intricacies involved in financial crimes investigation and prosecution, you will discover that to recover one billion naira is war,” Olukoyede explained.
“Our modus operandi has changed tremendously. The moment we begin investigation, we begin asset tracing, because if you allow the corrupt individuals or those you are investigating to have access to the proceeds of their crime, they will fight you with it. Asset recovery is therefore pivotal in the anti-corruption fight.”
He reiterated the agency’s commitment to economic recovery through its anti-corruption mandate, stating that corruption cannot be allowed to drain Nigeria’s economy.
He added that since October 2023, the EFCC has recovered approximately N250 billion in cash, along with tens of millions in foreign currency, including US dollars and British pounds.
Beyond asset recovery, the EFCC has seen considerable success in securing convictions, recording over 3,500 convictions between October 18, 2023, and October 18, 2024.
Olukoyede stressed that while the EFCC has been associated with cases of internet fraud, often referred to as ‘yahoo yahoo,’ it has also succeeded in convicting numerous high-profile offenders.
“We also want to reorient the public that it’s not only ‘yahoo yahoo’ cases we are pursuing. We have evidence and a significant number of high-profile cases in which we secured convictions,” Olukoyede noted.
He pointed out that internet fraud alone has cost the nation over $500,000 in just one year, a loss that some still fail to take seriously.
Olukoyede highlighted the heavy caseload being managed by the Commission, with the opening of over 4,800 new cases between October 2023 and October 2024.
“In the last year, we received over 17,000 petitions, and right now, we are investigating over 20,000 cases,” he disclosed, adding that several cases have been filed in court as the Commission ramps up its anti-corruption efforts.
Acknowledging the challenges facing the Commission, Olukoyede admitted that the EFCC often faces backlash as it intensifies its anti-corruption drive.
“We expect all this because when you fight corruption, corruption will fight back. But we are not perturbed.
“We will continue to work irrespective of what people say about us,” he assured, pledging that the agency will remain dedicated within the constraints of its resources.
Since his confirmation last year, Olukoyede has sought to transform the EFCC’s operations.
In his statement to the Senate during his confirmation hearing, he outlined three core policy objectives aimed at moving Nigeria forward by curbing economic crimes and bolstering the economy through recovered assets.
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