EFCC recovers over N400bn from Govt officials, cyber criminals

The leadership style of the incumbent chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, may have started yielding the desired results with the anti-graft agency recovering funds that have been ranked as one of the highest since the establishment of the commission.

Olukoyede was appointed as the fifth chairman and since his appointment, the 21-year-old agency has ramped up investigations of alleged graft by public officials and financial crimes in the private sector, recovering humongous funds.

Within the first year after President Bola Tinubu’s appointment of Olukoyede, the EFCC recovered over N400 billion in currencies from looters and fraudsters through detailed investigations conducted by the agency’s headquarters and its 14 zonal offices across the country.

Aside from the funds recovered, the agency recovered 53 vehicles from fraudsters and handed it over to the Canadian Royal Mounted Police, for repatriation. The recovered 53 vehicles were stolen over a period of time in Canada, freighted to Nigeria and distributed to multiple locations in Nigeria by the criminal elements.

Within the period, lawyers representing the agencies also secured 3,455 convictions, ensuring that the agency expenses on prosecuting cases paid off.

The statistics of funds and conviction recovered were contained in a document obtained by our correspondent, detailing achievements recorded by the agency between October 2023 and September 30th, 2024.

In the document obtained on Tuesday, the agency summarised cases investigated and the recoveries made by the agency within one year through the prevention of corruption strategy adopted by the commission under Olukoyede.

Of this fund, over N248 billion accounted for the recovery done in local currency, while about N200 billion were the estimations done on the United States, Australian, Canadian, Euro, Pounds, and other foreign currencies recovered within the period under review.

Monetary recoveries made by the agency in that period include $105,423,190.39; £ 53,133.64; €172,547.10; T1,300.00 (One Thousand, Three Hundred Indian Rupees); CAD $ 3,400.00 (Three Thousand, Four Hundred Canadian Dollars); ¥74,859:00 (Seventy-Four Thousand, Eight Hundred and Fifty-Nine Chinese Yuan); AUS $ 740:00 (Seven Hundred and Forty Australian Dollars); 170:00 UAE DIRHAM (One Hundred and Seventy United Arab Emirates Dirham); 73,000:00 KOREAN WON (Seventy-Three Thousand Korean Won); CFA 7,821,375:00 (Seven Million, Eight Hundred and Twenty-One Thousand, Three Hundred and Seventy-Five West African CFA) to R 50:00 (Fifty South Africa Rands).

Earlier, the EFCC’s Director Of Public Affairs, Wilson Uwujaren, yesterday said the commission has recorded successes in the fight against corruption in the country.

“In terms of naira recovery, we have recovered over N200bn in one year of Ola Olukoyede’s administration. That is not to talk about the dollar and the euro components of the recoveries. The figures are actually humongous. In terms of the conviction returns, we have over 3,000 convictions in one year of his administration. That for us is interesting.”

Despite these milestones, he said the commission’s focus is on the prevention of crimes rather than convictions.

“The style of this leadership of the EFCC is that there is a major emphasis on the prevention of corruption,” he said.

To make that happen, he said the commission has put up measures including sensitisation of youth across the country on the dangers of fraud, especially cybercrime.

Apart from cybercrime among young people, Uwujaren identified corruption in the public sector as a major source of concern.

“You will agree with me that the major source of corruption especially in the public sector largely pertains to contract and procurement processes and the commission is determined to ensure that these practices are checked before they occur,” the agency’s public affairs director added.

“The popular maxim is that prevention is better than cure and once you are able to prevent procurement fraud before they happen, we would be able to save a lot of resources for this country.”