EFCC Recovers Over ₦1.2 Trillion, Darts 9 Ex-Governors and 4 Ex-Ministers to Court

By Damilola Adebiyi, Assistant Editor

Yesterday, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said, the agency has secured 10,872 convictions and recovered over N1.2 trillion in three years.

This was disclosed by its Executive Chairman Ola Olukoyede in Abuja at a briefing to mark his third year in office.

The commission, he said, also recovered $684.478,457.32, £373,905.78 and €9,343,803.66 within the same period, adding that the anti-graft agency secured the forfeiture of 10,053 tangible assets under interim and final court orders between October 2023 and July 2026.

According to him, nine financial crimes that are prevalent in the country with advance fee fraud and cybercrime accounted for two-thirds of the recoveries, seizure and convictions.

He noted that advance fee fraud and cybercrime had been more prominent than economic governance offences.

Olukoyede declared the last 34 months had been remarkable for the anti-graft agency.

According to him: “The past 34 months have been a period of work, commitment and passionate engagement in the fight against economic and financial crimes and other acts of corruption.

“I took on this assignment with a clear commitment to do things differently. At my confirmation before the National Assembly, I outlined a three-pronged agenda as the anchor of my stewardship.

“To the glory of God, we have kept faith with the agenda of proper focusing on the mandate of the EFCC in the overall interests of Nigerians, using the instrumentality of the anti-graft war to stimulate growth in the economy, adherence to the rule of law, commitment to transactional credits, building the image of Nigeria and optimising foreign direct investments.

“The past 34 months have been a period of sustained enforcement, institutional reform, prosecution, asset recovery, restitution and stronger collaboration at home and abroad.

Today, he said, “I want to place before Nigerians the measurable outcomes of that work, what those outcomes mean for our economy and financial system, and the direction in which the commission is moving.

Between October 2023 and July 2026, he added, ” the Commission received 49,673 petitions, investigated 39,615 cases, filed 14,476 cases in court and secured 10,872 convictions.

“This gives 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.

“Asset recovery has been another major pillar of our stewardship. Between 1 October 2023 and 30 June 2026, the Commission recorded recoveries of N1, 233,612,040,411.11, $684.478,457.32, £373,905.78, €9,343,803.66 in addition to recoveries in other currencies.

“Of the naira amount, approximately N397.26 billion ( 33%) represented direct recoveries for the Federal Government, while N836.34 billion(67%) represented indirect recoveries made 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.”

Olukoyede confirmed the forfeiture of 10,053 assets between October 2023 and July 2026.

He went on: “Beyond cash, the Commission secured the forfeiture of 10,053 tangible assets under interim and final court orders between October 2023 and July 2026. These included 8,198 electronic items, 1,177 real-estate assets, 370 automobiles, 251 plots of land, as well as schools, factories, hotels, shops, oil rigs, barges, machinery and Aircraft. We also recorded the forfeiture of 102 tonnes of solid minerals.

“Proceeds from disposal under final forfeiture orders amounted to approximately N12.07 billion and were paid to the Federal Government.”

On the whereabouts of the recovered funds, the EFCC chair said while some had been returned to government coffers and the rightful beneficiaries, some were allocated to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) as Student Loan and Nigeriean Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP) redit schemes.

He said: “In August 2024, the Federal Government directed that N50 billion each be allocated to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation from proceeds of crime recovered by the EFCC. Further NELFUND and Credit Corp funding from EFCC recoveries (N50billion each) was subsequently approved in 2026.

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

“Recovery is only truly meaningful when value is returned to the public interest and to rightful beneficiaries. During the period, N661.32 billion and US$492.37 million were released to beneficiaries. The naira releases included about N325.35 billion paid directly to individuals and corporate bodies.

“Similarly, N335.97 billion was released to various MDA’s, Nigerian Revenue Service and states internal revenue services, alongside releases to other public institutions, companies and individuals.

“There is also a significant revenue-mobilisation dimension to our work. Federal and state tax recoveries amounted to approximately N288.1 billion over the period, including about N173.2 billion in federal tax recoveries and N114.9 billion attributed to States’ Internal Revenue Services.

“This is fiscal value recovered through enforcement of existing obligations, not through the imposition of new taxes. In addition, approximately N257.2 billion in naira recoveries were recorded for federal ministries, departments and agencies, demonstrating how anti-corruption enforcement can reinforce the revenue capacity of the government

“Our continuing priority is to make restitution faster, more transparent and more efficient.”

On the prevalence of financial crime in the country, Olukoyede identified Advance Fee Fraud and cybercrime as being on the increase.

He added: “Data from petitions and case analysis provides an indication of the shifting trends in the financial crime threat landscape.

“Our 2024 to 2026 year-to-date category data recorded 46,288 offences across nine major typologies. Advance fee fraud and cybercrime together, represented nearly two-thirds of recorded offences.

“However, between 2024 and 2025, the total recorded offences rose by 24.1 per cent, with notable increases in procurement fraud, bank fraud, cybercrime and economic-governance offences.

“This tells us something important: 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.