EFCC Reveals Fresh Recoveries, Expands Anti-Corruption Campaign Across Nigeria

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has announced plans to deepen its anti-corruption efforts at the grassroots, with local government councils expected to receive greater attention as more resources are channelled to the third tier of government.

EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, disclosed this on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, in Abuja during the maiden Annual National Conference of Local Government Council Chairmen and Traditional Rulers Councils. He was represented at the event by the Director of Public Affairs Department, Commander CE Wilson Uwujaren.

According to Bush Radio Academy, Olukoyede said the commission’s commitment to transparency and accountability extends beyond the Federal Government to the sub-national level. He noted that increased resources allocated to local governments should translate into improved living conditions for Nigerians at the grassroots.

The EFCC chairman said the commission would continue to support efforts aimed at ensuring that public resources are properly managed and converted into meaningful benefits for citizens.

He also highlighted the use of recovered proceeds of crime for public investment, citing the Federal Government’s allocation of ₦50 billion each from recovered funds to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund and the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation. Additional funding has also been approved for the programmes.

Olukoyede further pointed to the conversion of the forfeited former NOK University in Kaduna State into the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, as an example of how recovered assets can be transformed into public projects. According to him, the institution had enrolled 1,909 students as of December 2025.

The EFCC chairman disclosed that the commission recovered more than ₦1.233 trillion between October 2023 and the period covered by its recent stewardship account. The recoveries also included approximately $684.48 million, £373,905.78 and €9.34 million.

He explained that about two-thirds of the naira recovered had been returned to ministries, departments and agencies, state revenue services, companies and individuals. Federal and state tax recoveries alone accounted for approximately ₦288.1 billion.

Olukoyede stressed that the impact of asset recovery should not be measured solely by the amount seized, but also by how recovered resources are returned to beneficiaries or converted into productive projects. He said approximately ₦661.32 billion and $492.37 million had been released to beneficiaries during the period under review.

The EFCC chairman also linked economic and financial crimes to national security, noting that issues such as terrorist financing, illegal mining, cross-border cybercrime and money laundering increasingly overlap with security concerns.

He disclosed that the commission’s specialised enforcement operations had recorded 920 cases, with 212 resulting in convictions, while investigations and prosecutions remain ongoing in areas including money laundering, terrorist financing, illegal mining and virtual-asset fraud.

Olukoyede said the commission would continue to strengthen its enforcement and accountability efforts while paying closer attention to the management of public resources at the local government level.

The latest move signals an expansion of the EFCC’s anti-corruption focus beyond federal institutions, with the commission seeking greater accountability in the management of resources intended to improve the lives of Nigerians at the grassroots.