The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it recovered a record ₦1.23 trillion and secured 10,872 convictions in the past 34-month under the Chairmanship Ola Olukoyede.
Olukoyede, who made the disclosure on Monday while presenting an account of his stewardship in Abuja, said the commission’s recoveries also included $684.48 million, £373,905.78 and €9.34 million between October 2023 and July 2026.
The naira recovery, put at ₦1,233,612,040,411.11, represents the highest monetary recovery recorded by the commission, according to figures presented by the EFCC chairman.
Olukoyede said ₦397.26 billion, representing 33 per cent of the total naira recovery, was recovered directly for the Federal Government, while ₦836.34 billion, or 67 per cent, was recovered on behalf of ministries, departments and agencies, state revenue services, companies, individuals and foreign victims.
He noted that the figures showed that two out of every three naira recovered during the period were recovered for beneficiaries other than the Federal Government.
On the commission’s prosecution record, Olukoyede said the EFCC received 49,673 petitions, investigated 39,615 cases, filed 14,476 cases in court and secured 10,872 convictions within the period under review.
This, he said, translated to a 75.1 per cent conviction-to-filing ratio.
The commission, according to him, recorded 1,370 convictions from 1,889 court filings in the first half of 2026 alone.
He described the results as evidence of a prosecutorial strategy driven by diligence, resilience and evidence-based litigation.
Olukoyede said the commission’s data also revealed significant changes in the pattern of financial crimes in the country.
He disclosed that 46,288 offences were recorded between 2024 and 2026 year-to-date across nine major crime typologies, with advance fee fraud and cybercrime accounting for nearly two-thirds of the offences.
The EFCC Chairman said total recorded offences increased by 24.1 per cent between 2024 and 2025, with notable rises in procurement fraud, bank fraud, cybercrime and economic-governance offences.
He said the figures demonstrated that the commission’s mandate extended beyond the prosecution of grand corruption to protecting citizens, businesses and institutions from fraud, cybercrime and other forms of economic exploitation.
The commission, he added, continued to prosecute high-profile cases involving former governors, ministers, public office holders, heads of government agencies, financial-sector operators and corporate executives.
Its specialised enforcement portfolio covering money laundering, unlicensed bureaux de change, illegal mining, virtual assets and terrorist financing produced 920 cases and 212 convictions during the period.
Olukoyede said money laundering and unlicensed BDC cases constituted the largest proportion of the portfolio, while the commission had intensified its response to emerging threats involving virtual assets and illicit financial flows from the extractive sector.
₦661bn, $492m RELEASED TO BENEFICIARIES
The EFCC chairman said the impact of asset recovery was measured not merely by funds seized but by how recovered proceeds were returned to their rightful beneficiaries and deployed for public benefit.
He disclosed that ₦661.32 billion and $492.37 million were released to beneficiaries during the period.
Of the naira releases, ₦325.35 billion went directly to individuals and corporate bodies, while ₦335.97 billion was released to ministries, departments and agencies, the Nigerian Revenue Service, states’ internal revenue services and other public institutions, companies and individuals.
The commission also recovered approximately ₦288.1 billion in federal and state taxes, comprising ₦173.2 billion in federal tax recoveries and ₦114.9 billion attributed to state internal revenue services.
An additional ₦257.2 billion in naira recoveries was recorded for federal ministries, departments and agencies.
Olukoyede said the commission’s recovery activities had also supported government efforts in education and consumer credit.
He recalled the Federal Government’s directive in August 2024 for ₦50 billion each from EFCC proceeds of crime to be allocated to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund and the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation.
A further ₦50 billion each was allocated to the two institutions in 2026 from EFCC recoveries, he added.
The EFCC chairman also cited the conversion of the forfeited NOK University into the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, Kaduna State, where 1,909 students were matriculated in December 2025.
He disclosed that another high-value private university had also been forfeited to the Federal Government.
10,053 ASSETS FORFEITED
Beyond cash recoveries, the EFCC secured the forfeiture of 10,053 tangible assets through interim and final court orders between October 2023 and July 2026.
The assets included 8,198 electronic items, 1,177 real estate properties, 370 automobiles and 251 plots of land, as well as schools, factories, hotels, shops, oil rigs, barges, machinery and aircraft.
The commission also secured the forfeiture of 102 tonnes of solid minerals.
Olukoyede said proceeds from the disposal of assets under final forfeiture orders amounted to approximately ₦12.07 billion, which was paid to the Federal Government.
He said the commission’s enforcement activities also contributed to strengthening Nigeria’s anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism framework.
According to him, Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Grey List in October 2025 was a national achievement to which the EFCC’s enforcement activities contributed.
In the foreign exchange sector, the commission recorded 234 bureau de change cases and 73 convictions, Olukoyede disclosed.
He said the enforcement of laws against unlicensed BDC operators complemented the regulatory reforms of the Central Bank of Nigeria and was aimed at creating a more transparent and compliant retail foreign exchange market.
EFCC RECORDS INSTITUTIONAL REFORMS
Olukoyede also highlighted reforms introduced to strengthen the commission’s operations, including new guidelines on arrest and bail, a review of sting operations and the establishment of specialised departments.
Among the new structures are the Department of Fraud Risk Assessment and Control, Security Department, Immigration and Visa Section and Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre.
The commission also commissioned directorates in Enugu and Ilorin, while new directorates were established in Ekiti, Anambra and Katsina states to improve access to EFCC services.
Other reforms included policies on gifts and hospitality, conflict of interest and exhibit-room security.
The Internal Affairs Department was also renamed and restructured as the Ethics and Integrity Department, reflecting what Olukoyede described as the commission’s commitment to internal accountability.
On digital transformation, he disclosed that almost 60 per cent of EFCC processes and operations had been digitalised.
He said the commission was investing further in technology and innovation through initiatives including the new EFCC Academy, the 24/7 Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre (E-C2R2) and EFCC Radio.
Olukoyede described the 34 months under his leadership as a period of sustained enforcement, prosecution, asset recovery, restitution and institutional reform.
He said the commission would continue to strengthen its capacity to combat economic and financial crimes while ensuring that recovered assets and proceeds were put to productive national use.
Source – The Watch Newspaper
(vitalnewsngr.com)
