EFCC Arrested 792 Fraudsters In 6-hr Operation, Says Spokesman

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has disclosed that its operatives arrested 792 suspected fraudsters for various financial crimes during a six-hour operation in 2024.

The revelation was made on Thursday by EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewole, who also disclosed that 192 out of the suspects were foreigners.

Oyewole stated this while speaking on the roles of civil society organisations and the media in driving a preventive framework for financial crimes at a one-day capacity-building workshop organised for CSOs and Journalists by the anti-graft agency in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

He added that the court ordered the deportation of the 192 foreigners to their respective countries after prosecution, stating that the Commission also secured the forfeiture of 753 units of duplex as proceeds of crime in 2024.

Oyewole noted that the EFCC also arraigned five former governors and five former ministers in 2024.

He stressed that the Commission secured convictions in 4,111 cases it filed between 2024 and 2025.

On recovery of proceeds of crimes, he stressed that the anti-graft agency recovered N566 billion from financial crimes last year, adding that parts of the recovered money were used for developmental projects across the country by the government, while others were used in funding education, including NELFUND.

Earlier, while declaring the workshop open, EFCC Acting Director, Maiduguri Zonal Directorate, Barr Aisha Habib, noted that the fight against corruption cannot be left solely to the EFCC; hence, the need for collaboration with the media and CSOs in reporting and raising advocacy against all financial crimes.

The Zonal Director said due to the Commission’s limited access to communities, the workshop was organised to engage the media and CSOs to convey the message against financial crimes to the communities.

“The issue of financial crimes, especially the cryptocurrency fraud, is ongoing, and we felt it is easier to engage you, and the key message to the public is ‘beware, be cautious and don’t be greedy. ‘ There is nothing like 200% in any business. You cannot simply invest money in something and expect a 200% profit overnight.

“When it is too good to be true, it is not true. That is what we want the public to be aware of,” she warned.