…Urges Lawmakers to Criminalize Unexplained Wealth
The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has revealed that the Commission has begun a sweeping investigation into the oil and gas sector, uncovering what he described as “mind-boggling” levels of corruption.
Speaking during the National Conference on Public Accounts and Fiscal Governance, organised by the Public Accounts Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives in Abuja on Wednesday, Olukoyede stated that the probe had only just begun but was already exposing serious cases of fiscal abuse.
“In the last three weeks, we started a commission-wide investigation into the extractive industry, particularly the oil and gas sector. What we have discovered is mind-boggling. And we have only just opened the books. So much more corruption is to be unraveled. If this is what we’re seeing at the surface, imagine what lies beneath,” he said.
Olukoyede linked Nigeria’s worsening insecurity and economic challenges directly to the mismanagement of public funds.
“There is a very strong connection between the mismanagement of our resources and insecurity. When you look at banditry, kidnapping, terrorism, trace it back, and you will find a pattern of corrupt practices and diversion of funds that were meant to improve people’s lives,” he added.
The EFCC boss called on the National Assembly to urgently pass the long-awaited Unexplained Wealth Bill, arguing that without such legislation, anti-graft efforts will remain constrained.
“Help me pass the Unexplained Wealth Bill. I’ve been begging for the past one year. This same bill was thrown out in the last Assembly. If we don’t make individuals accountable for what they have, we’ll never get it right.”
“Someone has worked in a ministry for 20 years. We calculate their entire salary and allowances. Then we find five properties — two in Maitama, three in Asokoro. Yet we’re told to go and prove a predicate offence before we can act. That is absurd,” Olukoyede lamented.
According to him, the proposed law would make it a strict liability offence for anyone living far beyond their legitimate means.
“Once you are living beyond your means, you should be held to account. Until we do this, there will always be an escape route for the corrupt,” he stressed.
Olukoyede also shared startling revelations about Nigeria’s looted assets abroad, noting that EFCC investigations had traced stolen wealth to unexpected locations.
“Last month alone, I visited four or five countries chasing Nigeria’s stolen assets. An ambassador even told me they discovered an estate in Iceland owned by a Nigerian. Iceland of all places!”
He added that efforts to recover the stolen funds are often hindered by reluctance from foreign governments.
“There is no amount of capacity I can build, no level of effort I can put in, that will enable me to recover even half of what has been stolen from Nigeria because the custodians of those assets in foreign countries don’t want to let go. And they won’t.”
“I told them at the United Nations Forum last December that if you are holding onto Nigeria’s stolen assets, we see you as an accessory after the fact. They grumbled, but I didn’t care,” he said.
Olukoyede also decried the culture of impunity and misplaced hero worship of corrupt officials in Nigeria.
“We are doing this work. We see people who have stolen our money. We have shown you evidence. We’ve traced where the money went. We are already in court. Yet, they’re being celebrated all over the place. Does that show we’re serious?”
He disclosed that over 700 federal Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) currently operate without functional internal control systems, which severely undermines anti-corruption efforts.
“How many books can you check? How many files will you read? We need to build strong internal compliance systems that can proactively checkmate corruption,” he warned.
Olukoyede reiterated that Nigeria’s persistent corruption crisis is fueling unnecessary external borrowing, despite the country’s vast natural resources.
“If we execute even 60% of our capital budget efficiently between 2025 and 2026, we will empower small and medium-scale industries. We’ll build infrastructure. We’ll be fine.”
He concluded with a passionate appeal to lawmakers and citizens, warning that the current administration may represent the country’s last opportunity to fight corruption effectively.
“If we miss it under this administration, I pity Nigeria. Let’s put politics aside. Let’s put ethnicity aside. This is about rescuing the soul of Nigeria,” he urged.
Olukoyede called on Nigerians to ignore the pushback from vested interests and social media attacks, asserting that the EFCC remains committed to transparency, accountability, and national recovery.
Dear Mr Chairman of EFCC, are you sure the cabal in the rotten system will allow you pass this bill you are talking about. A lot of rot is already discovered in the NNPCL where more than 210 trillion naira is unaccounted for, what else is more mind-boggling than this huge amount. To say that Nigerians have estates in foreign countries is not new. These countries are culprits and EFCC should contact INTERPOL and other relevant agencies to track and retrieve such stolen and illegally acquired properties. Our politicians, both past and present are the causes of this insecurity and banditory with kidnappings and until there is a law mandating the explanation of source of income, the EFCC will continue chasing the shadow and making a mockery of themselves in pursuit of corrupt individuals