The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission recovered N1.23tn, $684.47m and other foreign currencies in proceeds of crime and secured 10,872 convictions during the first 34 months of Ola Olukoyede’s tenure as chairman.
Olukoyede disclosed this on Monday while presenting his three-year stewardship report at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja.
He said the commission received 49,673 petitions between October 2023 and July 2026, investigated 39,615 cases and instituted 14,476 cases in court, leading to 10,872 convictions.
According to him, the figures represented a 75.1 per cent conviction-to-filing ratio.
The EFCC chairman further disclosed that 1,370 convictions were secured from 1,889 filings in the first half of 2026 alone.
He said the outcome was driven by a prosecutorial approach that prioritised investigation, evidence collection and successful courtroom outcomes.
Olukoyede said the commission had continued to ensure that its anti-corruption responsibilities translated into concrete economic benefits for Nigerians.
“Our approach has been anchored on properly focusing our mandate in the overall interest of Nigerians, using the anti-graft war to stimulate economic growth, strengthen the rule of law, improve transactional credibility, enhance Nigeria’s image and attract foreign direct investment,” he said.
Recoveries and restitution
Giving details of the recovered funds, Olukoyede said the commission recovered N1,233,612,040,411.11, $684,478,457.32, £373,905.78 and €9,343,803.66 between October 1, 2023 and June 30, 2026.
He said approximately N397.26bn, representing 33 per cent of the naira recovery, was made directly for the Federal Government, while N836.34bn, representing 67 per cent, consisted of indirect recoveries made for ministries, departments and agencies, state revenue services, companies, individuals and foreign victims.
He said the figures indicated that two out of every three naira recovered by the commission were recovered for beneficiaries other than the Federal Government.
“Recovery is only meaningful when the value is ultimately returned to the public interest or rightful beneficiaries,” Olukoyede said.
He disclosed that N661.32bn and $492.37m had been released to beneficiaries within the period under review.
The naira disbursements comprised N325.35bn paid directly to individuals and corporate organisations, while N335.97bn was released to ministries, departments and agencies, the Nigerian Revenue Service, state internal revenue services and other public institutions, companies and individuals.
Olukoyede said the commission was taking steps to make restitution quicker, more transparent and more effective.
The EFCC chairman also revealed that more than 40 personnel had been dismissed over corruption and financial misconduct since he assumed office.
He said over five of the affected officers were presently facing prosecution.
Olukoyede said the commission could not credibly wage war against corruption while permitting corrupt conduct within its own institution.
“You can’t be fighting corruption when your hands are soiled with corrupt practices,” he said.
He said the commission had changed the name of its former Internal Affairs Department to the Department of Ethics and Integrity as part of efforts to improve internal accountability.
Olukoyede also disclosed that the EFCC had implemented policies covering gifts and hospitality, conflict of interest and security of exhibits.
Financial crimes and enforcement
On the evolving character of financial crimes, the EFCC chairman said the commission recorded 46,288 offences across nine major crime categories between 2024 and 2026 year-to-date.
He said advance fee fraud and cybercrime represented almost two-thirds of the offences recorded.
Olukoyede added that recorded offences rose by 24.1 per cent between 2024 and 2025, with notable increases in procurement fraud, bank fraud, cybercrime and economic-governance offences.
“The trend demonstrates that the EFCC’s responsibility extends beyond the prosecution of high-profile corruption cases,” he said.
According to him, the commission was placing greater emphasis on safeguarding ordinary Nigerians, businesses and institutions from fraud, cyber-enabled crimes and other forms of economic exploitation.
Olukoyede said the commission had strengthened enforcement against money laundering, unlicensed bureaux de change, illegal mining, virtual assets and terrorist financing.
He said 920 specialised cases produced 212 convictions, while numerous other investigations and prosecutions were still ongoing.
The commission also recorded 234 cases involving bureaux de change and secured 73 convictions during the period.
Olukoyede said action against unlicensed BDC operations complemented regulatory measures introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria and was intended to encourage a more formal and transparent retail foreign-exchange market.
He said the measures were also designed to shut channels susceptible to illicit finance, speculation and round-tripping.
The EFCC chairman reiterated the commission’s resolve to investigate and prosecute prominent Nigerians irrespective of their political affiliation, public office or influence.
He referred to the recent convictions of former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, Robert Orya and Chukwunyere Nwabuoku as evidence of the commission’s commitment to pursuing cases without discrimination.
“No office, title or social status should place anyone beyond the reach of the law,” Olukoyede said.
He maintained that the EFCC would investigate matters professionally, prosecute cases on the basis of evidence and leave the courts to determine whether accused persons were guilty or innocent.
Tax recovery and national development
Olukoyede said the EFCC’s enforcement operations also produced approximately N288.1bn in federal and state tax recoveries during the period.
Of the total, N173.2bn represented federal tax recoveries, while N114.9bn was attributed to state internal revenue services.
He emphasised that the recoveries resulted from enforcement of existing tax obligations rather than the creation of additional taxes.
According to him, approximately N257.2bn in naira recoveries were also made for federal ministries, departments and agencies.
Olukoyede said the figures illustrated how anti-corruption enforcement could improve government revenue without necessarily placing additional financial pressure on taxpayers.
The EFCC chairman pointed to the social and economic benefits of recovered proceeds of crime, citing the conversion of NOK University in Kachia, Kaduna State, into the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia.
He said the institution, which was recovered through the commission’s asset-forfeiture process, had 1,909 students matriculating in December 2025.
Olukoyede said the Federal Government allocated N50bn each from EFCC recoveries to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund and the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation in 2024, while additional N50bn allocations to each institution were approved in 2026.
He said deploying recovered criminal proceeds to education and household credit reflected a move away from viewing anti-corruption solely as punishment towards using enforcement to restore stolen value and promote national development.
Beyond financial recoveries, Olukoyede said the EFCC obtained forfeiture orders covering 10,053 tangible assets between October 2023 and July 2026.
The assets comprised 8,198 electronic items, 1,177 real estate properties, 370 automobiles and 251 plots of land.
Other forfeited properties included schools, factories, hotels, shops, oil rigs, barges, machinery and aircraft, while 102 tonnes of solid minerals were also forfeited.
He said proceeds generated from the disposal of assets under final forfeiture orders stood at about N12.07bn and were remitted to the Federal Government.
Reforms and institutional transformation
Olukoyede connected the commission’s continued enforcement efforts with Nigeria’s wider drive to strengthen its anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism framework.
He described Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force Grey List in October 2025 as a national achievement.
The EFCC chairman said the commission’s investigations and enforcement efforts contributed to the broader national work that improved Nigeria’s compliance framework.
He also credited stronger cooperation with domestic and international law-enforcement agencies, regulators and other institutions for many of the commission’s achievements.
He identified the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, United Kingdom National Crime Agency, Royal Canadian Mounted Police and INTERPOL among the international organisations collaborating with the EFCC.
Olukoyede said approximately 60 per cent of the commission’s processes and operations had been digitised under its reform programme.
He said the EFCC had developed new guidelines on arrest and bail, reassessed its sting operations and created specialised units, including the Department of Fraud Risk Assessment and Control and Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre.
The commission, he added, had opened its Enugu and Ilorin directorates and established new directorates in Ekiti, Anambra and Katsina states.
Olukoyede said measuring the EFCC’s performance should go beyond the number of arrests made or the amount of money recovered.
He said the commission’s duty was to convert intelligence into prevention, petitions into investigations, investigations into prosecutions, prosecutions into convictions and recoveries into restitution.
“The ultimate objective is to turn enforcement into measurable national value,” he said.
The EFCC chairman pledged that the commission would sustain its campaign against corruption and economic crimes while observing due process and concentrating on outcomes that provide measurable benefits to Nigerians.
