- 49,673 petitions received, 39,615 cases investigated, 14,476 prosecuted
- EFCC secures forfeiture of 10,053 assets, including universities, hotels, factories, aircraft, oil rigs
- N661.32bn, $492.37m released to beneficiaries
- Anti-graft agency records N288.1bn in federal, state tax recoveries
- N100bn channelled to NELFUND and Consumer Credit Corporation
- Nigeria’s exit from FATF Grey List linked partly to sustained enforcement
The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has declared that the anti-graft agency has recovered more than N1.23 trillion and $684.47 million in proceeds of crime within the first 34 months of his administration, while securing 10,872 convictions from 14,476 cases filed in court.
Olukoyede disclosed this on Monday, August 31, 2026, while presenting his three-year stewardship report at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja.
The EFCC chairman, who assumed office with a pledge to reposition the Commission and strengthen its fight against economic and financial crimes, said the past 34 months had been characterised by sustained enforcement, institutional reforms, prosecution, asset recovery, restitution and increased collaboration with local and international law-enforcement bodies.
According to him, the Commission has remained focused on ensuring that its anti-corruption mandate translates into tangible economic value for Nigerians.
He said the EFCC’s approach had been anchored on properly focusing its mandate in the overall interest of Nigerians, using the anti-graft war to stimulate economic growth, strengthen the rule of law, improve transactional credibility, enhance Nigeria’s image and attract foreign direct investment.
10,872 Convictions From 14,476 Cases
Giving a breakdown of the Commission’s enforcement activities, Olukoyede said that between October 2023 and July 2026, the EFCC received 49,673 petitions, investigated 39,615 cases, filed 14,476 cases in court and secured 10,872 convictions.
This, he explained, represented a 75.1 per cent conviction-to-filing ratio.
He added that the Commission recorded 1,370 convictions from 1,889 filings in the first half of 2026 alone, describing the result as evidence of a prosecutorial strategy driven by investigation, evidence gathering and courtroom outcomes.
Olukoyede said the figures were not merely statistics, but reflected the Commission’s determination to pursue cases professionally and ensure that investigations ultimately produce meaningful outcomes in court.
Cybercrime, Advance Fee Fraud Dominate Financial Crime Landscape
The EFCC chairman also revealed that data generated from petitions and case analysis had provided important insights into the changing nature of financial crimes in Nigeria.
He said the Commission’s 2024 to 2026 year-to-date data recorded 46,288 offences across nine major crime typologies.
Advance fee fraud and cybercrime, according to him, accounted for nearly two-thirds of the recorded offences.
He noted that total recorded offences increased by 24.1 per cent between 2024 and 2025, with significant increases recorded in procurement fraud, bank fraud, cybercrime and economic-governance offences.
Olukoyede said the trend demonstrated that the EFCC’s responsibility extended beyond the prosecution of high-profile corruption cases.
He stressed that the Commission was increasingly focused on protecting ordinary citizens, businesses and institutions from fraud, cyber-enabled crimes and other forms of economic exploitation.
No Sacred Cows, Says EFCC Boss
The EFCC chairman also reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to investigating and prosecuting high-profile Nigerians regardless of their political positions, public status or influence.
He said the Commission’s high-profile case portfolio covered former governors, ministers, public office holders, heads of government agencies, financial-sector operators and corporate executives.
Olukoyede cited the recent convictions of Saleh Mamman, Robert Orya and Chukwunyere Nwabuoku as examples of the Commission’s determination to pursue cases without discrimination.
He maintained that no office, title or social status should place anyone beyond the reach of the law.
According to him, the EFCC would continue to investigate cases professionally, prosecute them based on evidence and allow the courts to determine the guilt or innocence of accused persons.
920 Specialised Financial Crime Cases Recorded
Olukoyede disclosed that the Commission had also intensified enforcement in specialised areas of financial crime, particularly money laundering, unlicensed bureaux de change, illegal mining, virtual assets and terrorist financing.
He said the EFCC recorded 920 specialised cases, resulting in 212 convictions, with several other investigations and prosecutions still active.
Money laundering and unlicensed bureau de change operations, he explained, constituted the largest portion of the specialised enforcement portfolio.
He added that the Commission was equally responding to emerging threats associated with virtual assets and illicit financial flows from Nigeria’s extractive sector.
EFCC Recovers N1.23tn, $684.48m
One of the biggest highlights of the stewardship report was the disclosure on asset recovery.
Olukoyede said that between October 1, 2023 and June 30, 2026, the EFCC recovered N1,233,612,040,411.11, $684,478,457.32, £373,905.78 and €9,343,803.66, in addition to recoveries made in other currencies.
A significant portion of the naira recovery, he explained, was not for the Federal Government alone.
According to the breakdown, 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.
Olukoyede said the figures demonstrated that two out of every three naira recovered by the Commission during the period were recovered on behalf of beneficiaries other than the Federal Government.
N661.32bn, $492.37m Returned to Beneficiaries
Addressing the often-asked question of what happens to recovered funds, the EFCC chairman said recovery was only meaningful when the value was ultimately returned to the public interest or rightful beneficiaries.
He disclosed that during the period under review, N661.32 billion and $492.37 million were released to beneficiaries.
The naira releases included approximately N325.35 billion paid directly to individuals and corporate bodies.
Another N335.97 billion was released to various ministries, departments and agencies, the Nigerian Revenue Service, state internal revenue services and other public institutions, companies and individuals.
Olukoyede said the Commission was working towards making the restitution process faster, more transparent and more efficient.
N288.1bn Tax Recoveries for Federal, State Governments
The EFCC boss further revealed that its enforcement activities had generated substantial fiscal value for both the Federal Government and subnational governments.
He said federal and state tax recoveries amounted to approximately N288.1 billion during the period.
Of this amount, about N173.2 billion represented federal tax recoveries, while N114.9 billion was attributed to state internal revenue services.
Olukoyede stressed that the money represented enforcement of existing tax obligations rather than the introduction of new taxes.
In addition, approximately N257.2 billion in naira recoveries were recorded for federal ministries, departments and agencies.
According to him, the figures demonstrated how anti-corruption enforcement could strengthen government revenue without necessarily imposing additional burdens on taxpayers.
N100bn Released for Student Loans, Consumer Credit
The EFCC chairman also highlighted the social and economic impact of recovered proceeds of crime.
He recalled that in August 2024, the Federal Government directed that N50 billion each from EFCC recoveries be allocated to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation.
He said additional funding of N50 billion each for NELFUND and the Consumer Credit Corporation from EFCC recoveries was subsequently approved in 2026.
Olukoyede said the utilisation of recovered criminal proceeds for education and household credit represented a shift from viewing anti-corruption merely as punishment to seeing it as a mechanism for restoring stolen value and supporting productive national development.
Recovered University Converted to Federal Institution
The EFCC chairman pointed to the conversion of NOK University in Kachia, Kaduna State, which was recovered through the Commission’s asset-forfeiture process, as another example of how recovered assets could be converted into productive national assets.
He said the property had been converted into the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, with 1,909 students matriculating in December 2025.
Olukoyede noted that many of the students would ordinarily have struggled to gain access to tertiary education.
Beyond education, he said the institution was expected to generate significant economic activity and opportunities within Southern Kaduna.
He also disclosed that another private university classified as a high-value asset had recently been finally forfeited to the Federal Government.
10,053 Assets Forfeited
Beyond cash recoveries, the EFCC secured forfeiture orders covering 10,053 tangible assets 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.
Other forfeited assets included schools, factories, hotels, shops, oil rigs, barges, machinery and aircraft.
The Commission also recorded the forfeiture of 102 tonnes of solid minerals.
Olukoyede disclosed that proceeds from the disposal of assets under final forfeiture orders amounted to approximately N12.07 billion, which was paid into the coffers of the Federal Government.
Nigeria Exits FATF Grey List
The EFCC chairman also linked the Commission’s sustained enforcement activities to Nigeria’s broader efforts to strengthen the integrity of its financial system.
He said enforcement in areas including money laundering, terrorist financing, asset freezing and confiscation, virtual assets and other high-risk sectors contributed to the country’s wider effort to address deficiencies in its anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism framework.
Olukoyede described Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Grey List in October 2025 as a national achievement.
He said the EFCC’s casework and enforcement activities formed part of the collective national effort that helped strengthen Nigeria’s compliance framework.
234 BDC Cases, 73 Convictions
The Commission’s intervention in the foreign-exchange market was also highlighted.
Olukoyede said the EFCC recorded 234 cases involving bureaux de change and secured 73 convictions within the period.
According to him, enforcement against unlicensed BDC operations complemented regulatory reforms by the Central Bank of Nigeria and was aimed at promoting a more formal, transparent and compliant retail foreign-exchange market.
He said the objective was also to close channels vulnerable to illicit finance, speculation and round-tripping.
International Cooperation Intensified
Olukoyede attributed many of the Commission’s achievements to increased collaboration with domestic and international partners.
He said the sophistication and increasingly transnational nature of organised financial crime required law-enforcement agencies to work across jurisdictions.
At the domestic level, the EFCC collaborates with law-enforcement agencies, regulators, the judiciary, ministries, departments and agencies, as well as state revenue authorities.
Internationally, he listed cooperation with organisations including the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), United Kingdom National Crime Agency (NCA), Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and INTERPOL, among other national and international law-enforcement bodies.
He said the Commission’s recoveries had involved multiple jurisdictions and currencies, with recovered assets also returned to foreign governments, entities and individuals.
At the West African level, Olukoyede disclosed that he had been re-elected President of the Network of National Anti-Corruption Institutions in West Africa (NACIWA) for another three-year term.
He said NACIWA had become an important platform for regional discussions on asset recovery, financial crime enforcement and institutional strengthening.
EFCC Undergoes Major Institutional Restructuring
The stewardship report also detailed several reforms undertaken to strengthen the internal operations of the Commission.
According to Olukoyede, the EFCC introduced new guidelines on arrest and bail, reviewed its sting operations and established specialised units, including the Department of Fraud Risk Assessment and Control, Security Department, Immigration and Visa Section and Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre.
The Commission also commissioned its Enugu and Ilorin Directorates and established new directorates in Ekiti, Anambra and Katsina States to improve access to its services.
Olukoyede said the Commission had also introduced policies on gifts and hospitality, conflict of interest and exhibit-room security.
The Internal Affairs Department was renamed and restructured as the Ethics and Integrity Department, reflecting what he described as the Commission’s commitment to internal cleansing and stronger ethical standards.
60% of EFCC Operations Now Digitalised
Digital transformation, Olukoyede said, had also become a major component of the Commission’s reform programme.
He disclosed that approximately 60 per cent of EFCC processes and operations had been digitalised.
The Commission is also investing in innovation, its new Academy, the EFCC 24/7 Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre, and EFCC Radio.
According to Olukoyede, the cybercrime response centre was established as a strategic response to the growing sophistication of cyber-enabled financial crimes.
‘We Are Not Merely Counting Arrests’
Reflecting on the overall performance of the Commission under his leadership, Olukoyede said the EFCC’s success should not be measured merely by the number of arrests made or funds recovered.
He said the Commission’s responsibility was to transform intelligence into prevention, petitions into investigations, investigations into prosecutions, prosecutions into convictions and recoveries into restitution.
He maintained that the ultimate objective was to turn enforcement into measurable national value.
While acknowledging that much remained to be done, the EFCC chairman pledged that the Commission would continue its work with renewed determination.
Prevention, Faster Restitution Top Next Phase
Looking ahead, Olukoyede identified deeper prevention, faster restitution, better investigative technology and greater professionalism in the Commission’s dealings with citizens as key priorities.
He pledged that the EFCC would intensify its fight against corruption and economic crimes while maintaining respect for due process and concentrating on outcomes that deliver measurable value to Nigerians.
He thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, members of the National Assembly, the judiciary, civil society organisations, the media and the Nigerian public for supporting the work of the Commission.
Olukoyede said the EFCC would not take the confidence and trust of Nigerians for granted.
The stewardship presentation effectively placed the Commission’s three-year performance in the broader context of Nigeria’s economic recovery, financial-system integrity and the fight against corruption, with the EFCC leadership insisting that recovered criminal proceeds must increasingly translate into public assets, fiscal value, restitution and opportunitie
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