The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) recovered more than ₦1.23 trillion and secured 10,872 convictions between October 2023 and July 2026, the commission’s Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, has disclosed.
Olukoyede made the disclosure on Monday, August 31, 2026, while presenting a report on the activities and achievements of the anti-graft agency during his 34 months in office.
According to him, the period recorded the EFCC’s highest-ever monetary asset recoveries in both naira and foreign currencies.
EFCC records showed that the commission recovered ₦1,233,612,040,411.11, alongside $684,478,457.32, £373,905.78 and €9,343,803.66.
Olukoyede said about ₦397.26 billion, representing 33 per cent of the naira recovery, was recovered directly for the Federal Government, while the remaining ₦836.34 billion was recovered on behalf of ministries, departments and agencies, state revenue services, companies, individuals and foreign victims.
He said the figures demonstrated that a significant proportion of the commission’s recovery efforts benefited parties beyond the Federal Government.
On prosecution, the EFCC chairman said the commission received 49,673 petitions, investigated 39,615 cases, filed 14,476 cases in court and secured 10,872 convictions during the period under review.
This represents a conviction-to-filing ratio of 75.1 per cent, while the commission recorded 1,370 convictions from 1,889 filings in the first half of 2026 alone.
Olukoyede said the commission’s data also showed a changing financial crime landscape, with 46,288 offences recorded across nine major categories between 2024 and 2026 year-to-date.
According to him, advance fee fraud and cybercrime accounted for nearly two-thirds of the recorded offences, while total offences increased by 24.1 per cent between 2024 and 2025.
He noted that procurement fraud, bank fraud, cybercrime and economic-governance offences also recorded notable increases.
The EFCC chairman said the commission continued to prosecute high-profile cases involving former governors, ministers, public office holders, heads of government agencies, financial-sector operators and corporate executives.
He added that specialised enforcement covered money laundering, unlicensed bureaux de change, illegal mining, virtual assets and terrorist financing.
Olukoyede said the commission recorded 920 cases across those areas, resulting in 212 convictions.
Recoveries and forfeited assets
The EFCC chairman said ₦661.32 billion and $492.37 million recovered by the commission were released to beneficiaries during the period.
He said the releases included about ₦325.35 billion paid directly to individuals and corporate bodies, while ₦335.97 billion was released to government ministries, departments and agencies, revenue services and other beneficiaries.
Federal and state tax recoveries, he added, amounted to approximately ₦288.1 billion, comprising ₦173.2 billion in federal tax recoveries and ₦114.9 billion attributed to state internal revenue services.
The commission also secured the forfeiture of 10,053 tangible assets under interim and final court orders.
The forfeited 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.
Olukoyede said 102 tonnes of solid minerals were also forfeited, while proceeds from the disposal of assets under final forfeiture orders amounted to approximately ₦12.07 billion, which was paid to the Federal Government.
He highlighted the use of recovered proceeds to support national development, including the Federal Government’s allocation of ₦50 billion each to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation in 2024, with another ₦50 billion each provided to the two institutions in 2026 from EFCC recoveries.
He also cited the conversion of the forfeited NOK University into the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, Kaduna State. The institution matriculated 1,909 students in December 2025.
Reforms and digitalisation
Olukoyede said the EFCC also implemented several institutional reforms during his tenure, including new guidelines on arrest and bail, a review of sting operations and the creation of specialised departments.
These include the Department of Fraud Risk Assessment and Control, Security Department, Immigration and Visa Section, and the Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre.
He said the commission also established new directorates in Ekiti, Anambra and Katsina states, while the Enugu and Ilorin directorates were commissioned to improve access to the agency.
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 as part of efforts to strengthen internal accountability.
Olukoyede disclosed that almost 60 per cent of the EFCC’s processes and operations had been digitalised, with further investment planned in technology, the EFCC Academy, the Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre and EFCC Radio.
He said the commission’s efforts also contributed to Nigeria’s broader anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing framework, noting that Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Grey List in October 2025 was a significant national achievement.
On the foreign exchange market, Olukoyede said enforcement against unlicensed bureaux de change supported the Central Bank of Nigeria’s regulatory reforms.
He disclosed that the EFCC recorded 234 BDC cases and 73 convictions within the three-year period.
Olukoyede said the commission’s 34 months under his leadership had been defined by sustained enforcement, prosecution, asset recovery, restitution, institutional reforms and stronger domestic and international collaboration.
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