The chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ola Olukoyede, has revealed that the commission is currently prosecuting four former governors and three ex-ministers.
The EFCC boss, who stated this on Friday in Lagos during a stakeholders’ sensitisation programme, said the commission has taken it upon itself to investigate politically exposed but corrupt individuals.
Olukoyede also announced the formation of a task force in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to investigate and prosecute unlicensed forex dealers and individuals abusing the Naira.
Speaking on how to curb the abuse of the Naira, Olukoyede insisted that spraying and stamping on the Naira notes is not a cultural practice, but a punishable offence under Nigerian law.
Olukoyede highlighted that the Task Force on Dollarisation and Naira Abuse represents a strengthened effort by the EFCC to enforce regulations against unlicensed forex dealers and those misusing the naira.
He described the naira as “a symbol of our sovereignty” and expressed deep concern over ongoing abuses, including spraying, mutilation, and stamping, especially at social events.
Olukoyede said, “Nobody who works hard to earn money will go out and start throwing their hard-earned salary into the air, such practices are both illegal and economically harmful.
“We all must lend our voices to this national campaign to restore the integrity of the naira. This fight is not just for the EFCC, it is a collective duty,” he said.
The EFCC chairman also dismissed public claims that such actions are part of Nigerian tradition, stressing that nothing is cultural about destroying the national currency.
Addressing criticism that the commission should focus more on “high-profile crimes,” Olukoyede stated that, “An offence is an offence. Ignorance of the law is never an excuse.”
He emphasised that some celebrities facing prosecution can attest to the weight of the law, adding that the EFCC has shifted its approach beyond mere enforcement to include strategies that support economic recovery and protect legitimate businesses.
Olukoyede also highlighted a significant recovery from the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), which helped fund a skill acquisition centre and a liaison office in Bayelsa State.
The EFCC boss further revealed that a property recovered from a former civil servant in Kaduna now houses the newly established Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia.
He stated that the EFCC is also collaborating with foreign governments to restitute stolen funds and has successfully repaid fraud victims in the US, Spain and Canada.
The EFCC boss said two signature programmes of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, the NELFUND and Credit Programme, have benefitted from the proceeds of crimes recovered.
He revealed that N50 billon of the proceeds of crimes has been so far committed to NELFUND.
Olukoyede also said funds recovered were deployed to build skills acquisition centre and NDDC’s headquarters in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, which was commissioned recently.
Olakoyede also explained that unlike in the past when some of the money recovered was re-looted, the commission is poised to judiciously use every recovered mony.
“We have also recovered a university which we later changed to the University of Applied Sciences, Kachia Kaduna, from a former director in a civil service who diverted about N12 billion to build a university. The university is one of the best private universities we have around.
He said that out of 194 foreigners who were arrested in Lagos on charges of illegal cryptocurrency, 168 of them have been convicted.
“Yahoo Yahoo and other associated crimes have done a lot of reputation damage to us. At a time, Nigerian passports could enter 12 developed countries without a visa. But today, the international passports of Cameron and Ghana are better than us,” he lamented.
Olukoyede, who said he filed over 5,000 corruption cases last year alone, also lamented that it is very difficult to prosecute politically exposed persons and convict them, especially former governors, because they have enough means to hire lawyers and delay the prosecution
“More than 65 percent of the cases we filed last year were on civil servants; politically exposed persons. There was a case of a former governor; we spent 11 years on interlocutory injunction from Federal High Court up to Supreme Court before the apex court decided that he (the ex-governor) had a case to answer.
On how to nip corruption in the bud, Olukoyede said, “I also established a fraud risk assessment unit to prevent money from being pilfered. Within one year of the unit, we have prevented N10 billion from being stolen.
“The EFCC also owned an anti-corruption radio 97.3 FM for public enlightenment and anti-corruption efforts to curb the activities of fraudsters.”
Corroborating the EFCC chairman, the director-general of the National Orientation Agency, Mallam Lanre Isa Onilu, said abuse of the naira is not only unlawful, but also unethical.
“For civic responsibility and national cohesion, we must ensure that we treat our naira in a dignified manner. The National Values Charter also dwells on how to curb the abuse of naira. We have our television commercials running on some stations to sensitise Nigerians about this,” he added.
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