$500m+ Recovered! Olukoyede Reveals EFCC’s Massive Haul In Three Years

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has disclosed that the agency has secured the forfeiture of cash and assets worth more than $500 million to the Federal Government over the past three years.

Olukoyede made the disclosure on Wednesday while delivering a lecture at the Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime in the United Kingdom.

According to the EFCC chairman, the commission has made significant progress in recovering illicit funds and assets since he assumed office, with the total value of forfeited cash and properties exceeding half a billion dollars.

He explained that Nigeria’s legal framework allows the EFCC to seek the forfeiture of assets suspected to be proceeds of crime without necessarily waiting for a criminal conviction.

Olukoyede noted that similar provisions exist in countries such as Australia and Canada, where authorities can apply for the forfeiture of assets reasonably suspected to have been acquired through criminal activities.

He said the process generally begins with an application to the High Court, supported by reasonable grounds for believing that the property in question represents proceeds of crime.

The EFCC chairman cited the recent forfeiture of an aircraft allegedly linked to an individual who served on a monitoring committee for a power project in Nigeria.

According to Olukoyede, the individual was allegedly involved in a $30 million bribery scheme, resulting in the forfeiture of the aircraft.

He said the aircraft was forfeited about three months ago and has since been incorporated into the Presidential Air Fleet.

Olukoyede also disclosed that the EFCC had secured the forfeiture of a property comprising approximately 753 housing units allegedly linked to a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

He said criminal charges had been filed against the former CBN governor in three different courts.

The EFCC chairman further revealed that the commission traced 57 properties allegedly linked to former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, following an investigation into suspected abuse of office.

According to Olukoyede, the properties were traced to the former attorney-general during his eight years in office, with approximately 48 of them already forfeited.

He also cited the forfeiture of a private university allegedly linked to a director in the Federal Ministry of Health. The official, he said, voluntarily surrendered the property after an EFCC investigation.

Olukoyede attributed the commission’s progress in obtaining non-conviction-based forfeiture orders to three key factors: investigators’ ability to trace assets, judicial cooperation and access to reliable intelligence.

He stressed that an active and responsive judiciary was crucial to the effective implementation of non-conviction-based forfeiture procedures.

The EFCC chairman also highlighted the importance of credible intelligence, noting that investigators must be able to obtain accurate information to identify, trace and recover assets suspected to be linked to financial crimes.

He added that many EFCC investigators had undergone specialised training at reputable institutions around the world, improving their ability to trace assets and investigate complex financial crimes.

Olukoyede also called for stronger protection and incentives for whistleblowers, particularly individuals who provide credible information that helps authorities trace and recover Nigerian assets allegedly moved abroad.