The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has recovered N1.23 trillion and $684.48 million, among other foreign currencies, and secured 10,872 convictions in 34 months under the leadership of its Executive Chairman, Ola Olukoyede.
Olukoyede disclosed this on Monday in Abuja while presenting his stewardship report covering his tenure at the anti graft agency.
According to him, between October 2023 and July 2026, the Commission received 49,673 petitions, investigated 39,615 cases, filed 14,476 cases in court and secured 10,872 convictions.
He said the figures represented a 75.1 per cent conviction to filing ratio, while 1,370 convictions were secured from 1,889 cases filed in the first half of 2026.
Olukoyede said the achievements reflected the Commission’s sustained enforcement efforts, institutional reforms, prosecution, asset recovery, restitution and collaboration with local and international partners.
He said he assumed office with a commitment to reposition the EFCC by focusing its mandate on the interests of Nigerians, using anti corruption enforcement to stimulate economic growth, strengthen adherence to the rule of law, improve transactional credibility, enhance Nigeria’s image and attract foreign direct investment.
The EFCC chairman said the Commission’s data showed that 46,288 offences were recorded between 2024 and 2026 year to date across nine major categories of financial crimes.
He said advance fee fraud and cybercrime accounted for nearly two thirds of the offences, while total recorded offences increased by 24.1 per cent between 2024 and 2025.
According to him, procurement fraud, bank fraud, cybercrime and economic governance offences recorded notable increases during the period.
Olukoyede stressed that the EFCC’s mandate was not limited to grand corruption, saying the Commission was also protecting citizens, businesses and institutions from fraud, cyber enabled crimes and other forms of economic exploitation.
He said the Commission had continued to pursue high profile corruption cases without regard to the status of suspects, with its caseload including former governors, ministers, heads of government agencies, financial sector operators and corporate officials.
He cited the recent convictions of former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, former Managing Director of the Nigeria Export Import Bank, Robert Orya, and Chukwunyere Nwabuoku among high profile cases handled by the Commission.
Olukoyede said the principle guiding the Commission remained that no office or title placed 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,” he said.
EFCC records 920 specialised cases
The EFCC chairman disclosed that the Commission recorded 920 specialised enforcement cases involving money laundering, unlicensed bureaux de change, illegal mining, virtual assets and terrorist financing, securing 212 convictions.
He said money laundering and unlicensed bureau de change cases accounted for the largest share of the portfolio, while the Commission was also responding to emerging risks associated with virtual assets and illicit financial flows from the extractive sector.
On asset recovery, Olukoyede said the EFCC recovered N1,233,612,040,411.11, $684,478,457.32, £373,905.78 and €9,343,803.66, among other currencies, between October 1, 2023 and June 30, 2026.
He said about N397.26 billion, representing 33 per cent of the naira recovery, constituted direct recoveries for the Federal Government, while N836.34 billion, or 67 per cent, represented 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,” he said.
Olukoyede said N661.32 billion and $492.37 million had been released to beneficiaries during the period.
He said the naira releases included approximately N325.35 billion paid directly to individuals and corporate bodies, while 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.
N288.1bn tax recoveries
The EFCC boss said enforcement activities also yielded approximately N288.1 billion in federal and state tax recoveries.
He said federal tax recoveries accounted for about N173.2 billion, while N114.9 billion was attributed to state internal revenue services.
He explained that the funds represented recoveries of existing tax obligations rather than revenue generated through the imposition of new taxes.
In addition, he said approximately N257.2 billion in naira recoveries was recorded for federal ministries, departments and agencies.
Olukoyede said the national impact of asset recovery was also evident in the use of recovered proceeds to support education and household credit.
He recalled that the Federal Government, in August 2024, directed the allocation of N50 billion each from EFCC recoveries to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation.
He said additional N50 billion allocations each to NELFUND and the Credit Corporation were subsequently approved in 2026.
The EFCC chairman also disclosed that recovered NOK University in Kachia, Kaduna State, had been converted into the Federal University of Applied Sciences, with 1,909 students matriculating in December 2025.
He said the development had provided tertiary education opportunities for students who might otherwise have been unable to access university education, while also contributing to economic activity in Southern Kaduna.
10,053 assets forfeited
Beyond monetary recoveries, Olukoyede said the Commission secured the forfeiture of 10,053 tangible assets through interim and final court orders 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, as well as schools, factories, hotels, shops, oil rigs, barges, machinery and aircraft.
He added that 102 tonnes of solid minerals were also forfeited.
According to him, proceeds from the disposal of assets under final forfeiture orders amounted to approximately N12.07 billion and were paid to the Federal Government.
EFCC credits enforcement for Nigeria’s FATF exit
Olukoyede said the Commission’s enforcement activities had contributed to strengthening Nigeria’s financial system and the country’s efforts to address deficiencies in its anti money laundering and counter financing of terrorism framework.
He described Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list in October 2025 as a national achievement, saying the EFCC’s investigations and enforcement activities formed part of the collective effort that led to the development.
He also disclosed that the Commission handled 234 bureaux de change cases and secured 73 convictions within the last three years.
According to him, the enforcement was aimed at supporting a more formal and transparent foreign exchange market and shutting channels vulnerable to illicit financial activities, speculation and round tripping.
EFCC strengthens international partnerships
The EFCC chairman attributed the Commission’s achievements partly to increased collaboration with domestic and international law enforcement agencies.
He said the Commission had strengthened cooperation with law enforcement agencies, regulators, the judiciary, ministries, departments and agencies, as well as state revenue authorities.
Internationally, he said the EFCC collaborated with the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, INTERPOL and other law enforcement bodies.
Olukoyede also 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 a platform for regional cooperation on asset recovery, financial crime enforcement and institutional strengthening across West Africa.
EFCC records major institutional reforms
On institutional reforms, Olukoyede said the Commission introduced new guidelines on arrest and bail, reviewed sting operations and established the Department of Fraud Risk Assessment and Control, Security Department, Immigration and Visa Section and Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre.
He said the Commission also commissioned its Enugu and Ilorin directorates and established new directorates in Ekiti, Anambra and Katsina states to improve citizens’ access to its services.
Other reforms, he said, included policies on gifts and hospitality, conflict of interest and exhibit room security.
He said the Internal Affairs Department had also been renamed and restructured as the Ethics and Integrity Department as part of efforts to strengthen internal accountability.
Olukoyede disclosed that nearly 60 per cent of the Commission’s processes and operations had been digitised.
He said the EFCC was also investing in its Academy, the EFCC 24/7 Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre and EFCC Radio to strengthen its response to the increasingly sophisticated nature of financial crimes.
The EFCC chairman said the Commission’s responsibility was not simply to count arrests or announce recoveries but to translate intelligence into prevention, petitions into investigations, investigations into prosecutions, prosecutions into convictions and recoveries into restitution.
He said the Commission would, going forward, deepen preventive measures, accelerate restitution, invest in investigative technology and improve professionalism in its engagement with citizens.
“We will intensify the fight against corruption and economic crime with respect for due process and unrelenting focus on measurable value for the public,” Olukoyede said.
He expressed appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, members of the National Assembly, the judiciary, civil society organisations, the media and Nigerians for their support for the Commission.
