By Ajibola Olaide, JKNewsMedia
BETWEEN OCTOBER 2023 and July 2026, a total of 10,872 convictions and N1.23 trillion in naira recoveries were recorded, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Executive Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, said on Monday as he presented his 34-month stewardship report.
JKNewsMedia.com reports that Olukoyede said the commission received 49,673 petitions, investigated 39,615 cases and filed 14,476 cases in court during the period, producing a conviction to filing ratio of 75.1 per cent.
In the first half of 2026 alone, the EFCC secured 1,370 convictions from 1,889 filings.
He said the results reflected diligence, resilience and a prosecutorial approach anchored on evidence and courtroom outcomes.
Olukoyede said data from petitions and case analysis showed that financial crime threats had continued to shift, with 46,288 offences recorded across nine major typologies between 2024 and 2026 year to date.
Advance fee fraud and cybercrime accounted for nearly two thirds of the recorded offences, while total recorded offences increased by 24.1 per cent between 2024 and 2025, with notable increases in procurement fraud, bank fraud, cybercrime and economic governance offences.
He said the commission had continued to pursue complex and high profile cases without regard to status, with its portfolio spanning former governors, ministers, public office holders, heads of agencies, financial sector operators and corporate officials.
The EFCC recently secured convictions against Saleh Mamman, Robert Orya and Chukwunyere Nwabuoku.
“The principle is simple: 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,” Olukoyede said.
The commission also recorded 920 cases involving money laundering, unlicensed bureaux de change, illegal mining, virtual assets and terrorist financing, securing 212 convictions.
Money laundering and unlicensed bureaux de change cases accounted for the largest share of the specialised enforcement portfolio, while the commission also responded to emerging risks involving virtual assets and illicit financial flows from the extractive sector.
On asset recovery, Olukoyede said the EFCC recorded recoveries of N1,233,612,040,411.11, $684,478,457.32, £373,905.78 and €9,343,803.66, in addition to recoveries in other currencies, between October 1, 2023 and June 30, 2026.
Of the naira recoveries, approximately N397.26 billion, representing 33 per cent, constituted direct recoveries for the Federal Government, while N836.34 billion, representing 67 per cent, represented indirect recoveries made on behalf of ministries, departments and agencies, state revenue services, companies, individuals and foreign victims.
“Two out of every three naira recovered, were on behalf of beneficiaries other than the Federal Government,” he said.
Olukoyede said N661.32 billion and $492.37 million were released to beneficiaries during the period, including about N325.35 billion paid directly to individuals and corporate bodies.
A further N335.97 billion was released to various ministries, departments and agencies, the Nigerian Revenue Service and state internal revenue services, alongside other public institutions, companies and individuals.
The EFCC chairman said federal and state tax recoveries amounted to approximately N288.1 billion during the period, comprising about N173.2 billion in federal tax recoveries and N114.9 billion attributed to state internal revenue services.
He said approximately N257.2 billion in naira recoveries were also recorded for federal ministries, departments and agencies.
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 proceeds of crime recovered by the EFCC. Further NELFUND and Credit Corp funding of N50 billion each from EFCC recoveries was subsequently approved in 2026.
Olukoyede also said a recovered property, NOK University, was converted to a Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, Kaduna State, with 1,909 students matriculating in December 2025.
The commission also secured the forfeiture of 10,053 tangible assets under 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 EFCC also recorded the forfeiture of 102 tonnes of solid minerals, while proceeds from disposal under final forfeiture orders amounted to approximately N12.07 billion and were paid to the Federal Government.
Olukoyede said the commission’s enforcement work had also contributed to improving the integrity of Nigeria’s financial system, including through sustained action on money laundering, terrorist financing, asset freezing and confiscation, virtual assets and other high risk sectors.
He said Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force Grey List in October 2025 was a national achievement and that the EFCC’s casework and enforcement activities formed part of the wider effort.
In the foreign exchange market, the commission recorded 234 bureaux de change cases and 73 convictions within the three years, Olukoyede said.
He said the commission’s work also depended on collaboration with domestic and international partners, including law enforcement agencies, regulators, the judiciary, ministries, departments and agencies, state revenue authorities, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and INTERPOL.
At the sub regional level, Olukoyede said he was re elected president of the Network of National Anti Corruption Institutions in West Africa for another three year term.
He also outlined institutional reforms introduced during his stewardship, including new guidelines on arrest and bail, a review of sting operations, the establishment of the Department of Fraud Risk Assessment and Control, the Security Department, the Immigration and Visa Section and the Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre.
The commission commissioned the Enugu and Ilorin Directorates and established new directorates in Ekiti, Anambra and Katsina states.
It also introduced policies on gifts and hospitality, conflict of interest and exhibit room security, while renaming and restructuring the Internal Affairs Department as the Ethics and Integrity Department.
JKNewsMedia.com reports that Olukoyede said almost 60 per cent of the commission’s processes and operations had been digitalised, alongside continued investment in innovation and digitisation, the new Academy, the EFCC 24/7 Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre and EFCC Radio.
“We are not merely counting arrests or announcing recoveries. 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.
He said the commission had made significant progress but that its work was not finished.
“As we look ahead, our priorities are clear: deepen prevention, ensure faster restitution, invest in better investigative technology and improved professionalism in our engagement with citizens,” Olukoyede said.
“We will intensify the fight against corruption and economic crime with respect for due process and unrelenting focus on measurable value for the public.”
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