…Agency battles cyber-crime, graft offences rise 24.1%
…Recovers $684.5m, £373,906, €9.34m; releases N661.3bn, $492.4m to beneficiaries
…10,053 assets forfeited, 102 tonnes of solid minerals recovered
…Says work not finished, promises faster restitution, deeper prevention
By Clifford Ndujihe
THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, yesterday, said it secured 10,872 convictions and recovered N1.23 trillion, $684.48 million, £373,906 and €9.34 million in its 34-month anti-corruption campaign under its Executive Chairman, Ola Olukoyede.
The commission also disclosed that it investigated 39,615 cases, filed 14,476 cases in court and received 49,673 petitions between October 2023 and July 2026.
Olukoyede, who disclosed the figures while presenting his three-year stewardship report at the EFCC headquarters, Abuja, said the commission achieved a 75.1 per cent conviction-to-filing ratio, with 1,370 convictions secured from 1,889 cases filed in the first half of 2026 alone.
However, the EFCC chairman acknowledged that the war against economic and financial crimes was far from over, warning that emerging threats, particularly cyber-crime, financial fraud, virtual assets and illicit financial flows, were becoming increasingly sophisticated.
According to him, his 34 months in office had been characterised by “sustained enforcement, institutional reform, prosecution, asset recovery, restitution and stronger collaboration at home and abroad.”
Olukoyede said the figures were not merely statistics, but evidence of the commission’s attempt to turn anti-graft enforcement into measurable economic value for Nigerians.
“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,” he said.
46,288 offences recorded
Giving an insight into the changing nature of financial crimes in the country, the EFCC boss said its data for 2024 to 2026 year-to-date recorded 46,288 offences across nine major typologies.
He said advance fee fraud and cyber-crime accounted for nearly two-thirds of the offences, while total recorded offences increased by 24.1 per cent between 2024 and 2025.
Procurement fraud, bank fraud, cybercrime and economic-governance offences, he added, recorded notable increases.
“This tells us something important,” Olukoyede said.
“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.”
The commission, he said, also sustained prosecution of high-profile cases involving former governors, ministers, public office holders, heads of agencies, financial-sector operators and corporate officials.
He cited recent convictions of Saleh Mamman, Robert Orya and Chukwunyere Nwabuoku as part of the commission’s accountability drive.
Olukoyede declared: “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.”
N1.23tr recovered
On asset recovery, he said the EFCC recovered N1.233 trillion between October 1, 2023 and June 30, 2026.
Of the naira recoveries, N397.26 billion, representing 33 per cent, was recovered directly for the Federal Government, while N836.34 billion, or 67 per cent, was recovered for ministries, departments and agencies, state revenue services, companies, individuals and foreign victims.
He explained that recovery was meaningless unless the funds and assets were eventually returned to their rightful beneficiaries.
Consequently, the commission released N661.32 billion and $492.37 million to beneficiaries during the period.
The releases included N325.35 billion paid directly to individuals and corporate bodies, while N335.97 billion went to MDAs, the Nigerian Revenue Service, state internal revenue services and other public institutions.
The commission also recovered about N288.1 billion in federal and state taxes, comprising N173.2 billion for the Federal Government and N114.9 billion for state internal revenue services.
Another N257.2 billion was recovered for federal ministries, departments and agencies.
Recovered loot funds education, credit
Highlighting what he described as the broader national impact of asset recovery, Olukoyede said proceeds from recovered criminal assets were being deployed to productive purposes.
He recalled that in August 2024, the Federal Government directed that N50 billion each be allocated to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND, and the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation from EFCC recoveries.
A further N50 billion each for NELFUND and the Credit Corporation was approved in 2026.
The EFCC boss also cited the conversion of the recovered NOK University into the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, Kaduna State.
He said 1,909 students matriculated into the institution in December 2025.
“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,” he said.
10,053 assets forfeited
Beyond cash recoveries, Olukoyede disclosed that the EFCC secured the forfeiture of 10,053 tangible assets through interim and final court orders between October 2023 and July 2026.
The assets included 8,198 electronic items, 1,177 real estate assets, 370 automobiles and 251 plots of land, as well as schools, factories, hotels, shops, oil rigs, barges, machinery and aircraft.
The commission also secured the forfeiture of 102 tonnes of solid minerals.
According to him, proceeds from the disposal of assets under final forfeiture orders yielded approximately N12.07 billion, which was paid into the Federal Government’s coffers.
Nigeria exits FATF grey list
Olukoyede listed Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force, FATF, Grey List in October 2025 among the major national achievements to which the EFCC contributed.
He said sustained enforcement in money laundering, terrorist financing, asset freezing and confiscation, virtual assets and other high-risk areas formed part of the wider national effort to strengthen Nigeria’s anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism regime.
The commission also intensified its crackdown on unlicensed bureaux de change, recording 234 BDC cases and 73 convictions within the three-year period.
The objective, he said, was to promote a more formal and transparent foreign-exchange market while closing channels vulnerable to illicit finance, speculation and round-tripping.
Digital reforms, new directorates
On institutional reforms, Olukoyede said the EFCC introduced new guidelines on arrest and bail, reviewed sting operations and established the Department of Fraud Risk Assessment and Control, Security Department, Immigration and Visa Section and Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre.
The commission also commissioned directorates in Enugu and Ilorin, while new directorates were established in Ekiti, Anambra and Katsina States.
He said almost 60 per cent of EFCC processes and operations had been digitalised, with further investments in technology, the new EFCC Academy, the 24/7 Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre and EFCC Radio.
Challenges persist
Despite the achievements, the EFCC chairman acknowledged that the growing sophistication of economic crimes remained a major challenge.
He said organised crime was increasingly cross-border and required stronger cooperation among domestic and international law-enforcement agencies.
The EFCC currently collaborates with the FBI, UK’s National Crime Agency, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, INTERPOL and other international agencies.
Olukoyede, who was re-elected president of the Network of National Anti-Corruption Institutions in West Africa, NACIWA, said regional cooperation had become crucial to tackling asset recovery and financial crimes.
Looking ahead, he said the commission’s priorities would include deeper prevention, faster restitution, improved investigative technology and greater professionalism in dealing with citizens.
“We have made significant progress, but the work is not finished. It continues with renewed determination,” he said.
He pledged that the EFCC would intensify the fight against corruption and economic crime while respecting due process and maintaining its focus on “measurable value for the public.”
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