President Bola Tinubu has commended the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for its performance in tackling economic and financial crimes, saying the agency has justified the confidence his administration reposed in it.
Tinubu gave the commendation on Friday, October 2, 2026, in Awka, Anambra State, during the commissioning of a new Zonal Directorate of the EFCC.
Represented by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, the President said the commission’s achievements in convictions and asset recoveries provided evidence of its performance.
“Supporting the EFCC is not particularly difficult. The agency has consistently demonstrated that the confidence reposed on it is well founded. Without mincing words, the evidential proof of the EFCC’s success speaks loudly in convictions secured, assets and properties recovered,” Tinubu said.
The President said the commission’s activities were also aligned with the Renewed Hope Agenda of his administration, particularly its focus on economic reforms, good governance, accountability and transparency.
“When we came in three years ago, I highlighted nine major focal areas of my administration. Two of which are reforming the economy for sustained and inclusive growth and promotion of good governance,” he said.
Tinubu added that the anti-graft agency played an important role in supporting those objectives by promoting accountability, transparency and the proper deployment of public resources.
“The anti-graft agency complements this agenda as they are focused on accountability and transparency and appropriate deployment of resources,” the President said.
Speaking at the commissioning, the EFCC Executive Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, said the commission would continue to strengthen preventive measures in its fight against economic and financial crimes and corruption.
Olukoyede said the commission was focusing not only on prosecution but also on blocking avenues through which corrupt practices could occur.
“This new Directorate will not only enforce the law professionally and courageously, it will be high on corruption prevention,” he said.
According to him, the new directorate would engage government institutions, businesses, financial institutions, professional bodies, schools, markets, civil society organisations, traditional institutions, religious bodies and communities in the fight against corruption.
“It will educate stakeholders, build relationships and mobilise the people to own the fight against all forms of corrupt practices in the zone,” Olukoyede added.
The EFCC chairman said the commission had recorded significant progress in the implementation of its mandate over the past 34 months.
Giving figures for the period between October 2023 and July 2026, Olukoyede said 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,” he said.
Olukoyede also disclosed that the commission recorded recoveries of N1,233,612,040,411.11, $684,478,457.32, £373,905.78 and €9,343,803.66, in addition to recoveries in other currencies.
He said the commission had also undertaken institutional reforms aimed at improving its operational processes and procedures.
According to Olukoyede, the reforms included 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.
“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,” he said.
Olukoyede said the reforms had strengthened the commission’s institutional capacity and contributed to improvements across its law enforcement activities.
