The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, has assured local government council chairmen and traditional rulers’ council chairmen that the commission will extend its anti-corruption efforts to the grassroots.
Olukoyede said the increasing resources available to the third tier of government must be reflected in improved living conditions for people in local communities.
He stated this on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, at the maiden Annual National Conference of Local Government Council Chairmen and Traditional Rulers Councils in Abuja.
Represented by the Director of Public Affairs, EFCC, Commander CE Wilson Uwujaren, the EFCC chairman said accountability should not be limited to the Federal Government, stressing the need for greater transparency at the sub-national level.
“The EFCC is equally committed to transparency and accountability at the sub-national level and would want to see the improved resources flow to the third tier of government translate into improvement in the quality of lives of the grassroots population,” he said.
Olukoyede said the commission’s activities were also aligned with the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly efforts aimed at ensuring that public resources were used for the benefit of citizens.
He highlighted the use of recovered proceeds of crime to finance public projects, noting that the Federal Government had allocated ₦50bn each from recovered funds to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund and the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation.
He added that additional funding had subsequently been approved for the two institutions.
The EFCC chairman also cited the conversion of the forfeited former NOK University in Kaduna State into the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, as another example of how recovered assets could be converted into public benefit.
According to him, the institution had enrolled 1,909 students as of December 2025.
Olukoyede further linked economic and financial crimes to national security, saying crimes such as terrorist financing, illegal mining, cross-border cybercrime and money laundering had implications beyond financial losses.
He disclosed that the commission’s specialised enforcement operations had so far recorded 920 cases and secured 212 convictions, while investigations and prosecutions continued in areas including money laundering, terrorist financing, illegal mining and virtual-asset fraud.
The EFCC chairman said the commission was also strengthening its capacity to combat financial crimes in the digital space, revealing that almost 60 per cent of its processes and operations had been digitalised.
He said the commission was continuing to invest in its Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre and other investigative technologies to protect the country’s expanding digital economy from fraud and abuse.
Olukoyede also stressed the importance of due process in the commission’s enforcement activities, saying suspects would be investigated and prosecuted on the basis of evidence.
“We will investigate professionally, prosecute on the strength of evidence and respect the constitutional role of the courts in determining guilt or innocence. No title should place anyone outside the reach of the law, but neither should the fight against corruption be separated from due process,” he said.
The EFCC chairman said the commission had recorded significant financial recoveries since October 2023, with the total exceeding ₦1.233tn.
He added that the recoveries also included about $684.48m, £373,905.78 and €9.34m in other currencies.
Olukoyede disclosed that approximately two-thirds of the naira recovered had been returned to ministries, departments and agencies, state revenue services, companies and individuals.
He said recoveries from federal and state tax-related cases alone amounted to about ₦288.1bn, stressing the need for public institutions at every level to ensure that recovered and allocated resources ultimately benefit Nigerians.
