By BONIFACE AKARAH

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it received 49,673 petitions, filed 14,476 cases in court and secured 10,872 convictions between October 2023 and July 2026, as Executive Chairman Ola Olukoyede presented an account of his 34-month stewardship.

Olukoyede, who spoke at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja on Sunday, also disclosed recoveries running into more than N1.23 trillion and $684.48 million, alongside assets, taxes and other funds recovered for governments, institutions, companies and individuals.

According to him, the Commission investigated 39,615 cases during the period, giving it a conviction-to-filing ratio of 75.1 per cent.

“In the first half of 2026 alone, we recorded 1,370 convictions from 1,889 filings. These results reflect diligence, resilience and a prosecutorial approach anchored on evidence and courtroom outcomes,” Olukoyede said.

He said an analysis of cases between 2024 and 2026 showed changing trends in Nigeria's financial crime landscape, with advance-fee fraud and cybercrime accounting for nearly two-thirds of the 46,288 offences recorded across nine major categories.

Olukoyede added that total 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 fight against economic and financial crime is not only about grand corruption. Every day, we are protecting citizens, businesses and institutions from fraud, cyber-enabled crime and other forms of economic exploitation,” he said.

The EFCC chairman said the Commission had also continued to pursue high-profile cases involving former governors, ministers, public office holders, heads of agencies, financial-sector operators and corporate officials.

He specifically mentioned the recent convictions of 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 declared.

On specialised enforcement, he said the EFCC recorded 920 cases involving money laundering, unlicensed bureaux de change, illegal mining, virtual assets and terrorist financing, securing 212 convictions while maintaining an active pipeline of investigations and prosecutions.

N1.23tn, $684m Recovered

Olukoyede said asset recovery remained a major pillar of his stewardship, disclosing that the Commission recovered N1,233,612,040,411.11 and $684,478,457.32 between October 1, 2023 and June 30, 2026.

Other recoveries included £373,905.78 and €9,343,803.66, in addition to sums recovered in other currencies.

He explained that about N397.26 billion, representing 33 per cent of the naira recoveries, was recovered directly for the Federal Government, while N836.34 billion, or 67 per cent, was recovered 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.

Addressing questions about what happens to recovered funds, Olukoyede disclosed that N661.32 billion and $492.37 million were released to beneficiaries during the period.

The naira releases included about N325.35 billion paid directly to individuals and corporate bodies and N335.97 billion released to MDAs, revenue authorities and other beneficiaries.

“Recovery is only truly meaningful when value is returned to the public interest and to rightful beneficiaries. Our continuing priority is to make restitution faster, more transparent and more efficient,” the EFCC boss said.

He further disclosed that federal and state tax recoveries amounted to approximately ?288.1 billion, comprising about N173.2 billion in federal tax recoveries and N114.9 billion for states' internal revenue services.

Olukoyede said approximately N257.2 billion was also recovered for federal ministries, departments and agencies.

“This is fiscal value recovered through enforcement of existing obligations, not through the imposition of new taxes,” he said.

Recovered Funds for NELFUND, Credit Corp

The EFCC chairman said proceeds of crime recovered by the Commission had also been channelled into productive social investments.

According to him, the Federal Government directed in August 2024 that N50 billion each from EFCC recoveries should be allocated to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation, with further ?50 billion allocations to both institutions subsequently approved in 2026.

Olukoyede also pointed to the conversion of recovered NOK University into the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, Kaduna State.

He said 1,909 students matriculated at the institution in December 2025.

“When recovered criminal value helps finance education and household credit, enforcement moves beyond punishment to restoration and productive national use,” he said.

Beyond cash, the Commission 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, 251 plots of land, 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 the disposal of assets under final forfeiture orders amounted to approximately ?12.07 billion and were paid to the Federal Government.

Grey List Exit, Institutional Reforms

Olukoyede said the EFCC's enforcement activities in money laundering, terrorist financing, asset freezing, confiscation and virtual assets formed part of Nigeria's wider efforts to strengthen its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing systems.

He said Nigeria's removal from the Financial Action Task Force grey list in October 2025 was a national achievement to which the Commission contributed through its casework and enforcement activities.

The Commission also recorded 234 cases involving unlicensed bureaux de change and secured 73 convictions within the period.

On institutional reforms, Olukoyede said the EFCC introduced new guidelines on arrest and bail, reviewed its sting operations and established the Department of Fraud Risk Assessment and Control, the Security Department, Immigration and Visa Section and the Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre.

He said the Commission had also commissioned directorates in Enugu and Ilorin and established new directorates in Ekiti, Anambra and Katsina states.

Olukoyede added that almost 60 per cent of the EFCC's processes and operations had been digitalised.

“Gentlemen of the press, it is clear from my presentation that 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.

“We have made significant progress, but the work is not finished. It continues with renewed determination.”

Looking ahead, Olukoyede said the Commission would deepen prevention, speed up restitution, invest in investigative technology and improve professionalism in its engagement with Nigerians.

“We will intensify the fight against corruption and economic crime with respect for due process and unrelenting focus on measurable value for the public,” he added.