The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has recorded its highest-ever monetary asset recovery in both local and foreign currencies during the 34 months of Ola Olukoyede’s leadership as Executive Chairman.
Olukoyede made the disclosure on Monday, August 31, 2026, while addressing the media on his stewardship of the Commission.
Available records show that naira recoveries hit an all-time high of ₦1,233,612,040,411.11 (One Trillion, Two Hundred and Thirty-three Billion, Six Hundred and Twelve Million, Forty Thousand, Four Hundred and Eleven Naira, Eleven Kobo). In US dollars, recoveries reached $684,478,457.32 (Six Hundred and Eighty-four Million, Four Hundred and Seventy-eight Thousand, Four Hundred and Fifty-seven Dollars, Thirty-two Cents). Recoveries in other currencies included £373,905.78 (Three Hundred and Seventy-three Thousand, Nine Hundred and Five Pounds, Seventy-eight Shillings) in Pound Sterling and €9,343,803.66 (Nine Million, Three Hundred and Forty-three Thousand, Eight Hundred and Three Euros, Sixty-six Cents) in Euros.
Of the naira recovery, approximately ₦397.26 billion, representing 33 per cent, was direct recoveries for the Federal Government, while ₦836.34 billion, representing 67 per cent, were recoveries made on behalf of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), state revenue services, companies, individuals and foreign victims. Olukoyede noted that this breakdown shows that “two out of every three naira recovered were on behalf of beneficiaries other than the Federal Government.”
On prosecution, the EFCC Chairman disclosed that the Commission received 49,673 petitions, investigated 39,615 cases, filed 14,476 cases in court and secured 10,872 convictions between October 2023 and July 2026, giving a conviction-to-filing ratio of 75.1 per cent. In the first half of 2026 alone, the Commission recorded 1,370 convictions from 1,889 filings. He said these results reflect diligence, resilience and a prosecutorial approach anchored on evidence and courtroom outcomes.
Olukoyede revealed that data from petitions and case analysis provides insight into shifting trends in the financial crime threat landscape. The Commission’s 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, 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 that 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.
The EFCC has continued to pursue complex and high-profile matters without regard to status. Its high-profile case portfolio spans former governors, ministers and other public office holders, heads of agencies, financial-sector operators and corporate officials.
The Commission’s specialised enforcement portfolio further demonstrates the breadth of this work. “Across money laundering, unlicensed bureaux de change, illegal mining, virtual assets and terrorist financing, the Commission recorded 920 cases, with 212 convictions secured and a substantial active pipeline of investigations and prosecutions. Money laundering and unlicensed bureau de change cases account for the largest share of this portfolio. We are also responding to emerging risks in virtual assets and illicit financial flows from the extractive sector,” he said.
While noting that recovery is only truly meaningful when value is returned to the public interest and rightful beneficiaries, Olukoyede stated that during the period under review, ₦661.32 billion and US$492.37 million were released to beneficiaries. The naira releases included about ₦325.35 billion paid directly to individuals and corporate bodies, while ₦335.97 billion was released to various MDAs, Nigerian Revenue Service and States’ Internal Revenue Services, alongside releases to other public institutions, companies and individuals.
He disclosed a significant revenue-mobilisation dimension to the Commission’s work, stating that federal and state tax recoveries amounted to approximately ₦288.1 billion over the period, including about ₦173.2 billion in federal tax recoveries and ₦114.9 billion attributed to States’ Internal Revenue Services. He described this as fiscal value recovered through enforcement of existing obligations, not through the imposition of new taxes. In addition, approximately ₦257.2 billion in naira recoveries were recorded for federal MDAs, demonstrating how anti-corruption enforcement can reinforce the revenue capacity of government.
Olukoyede observed that the national impact of recovery is perhaps clearest when proceeds of crime are converted into productive social investment. He recalled the Federal Government’s directive in August 2024 for ₦50 billion each to be allocated to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation from EFCC’s proceeds of crime, with further funding of ₦50 billion each for both organisations in 2026 from EFCC recoveries.
He also recalled that the former NOK University, forfeited to the Federal Government, was converted to a Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, Kaduna State, with a total of 1,909 students matriculated in December 2025. He disclosed that another high-value private university has also been forfeited to the Federal Government. “When recovered criminal value helps finance education and household credit, enforcement moves beyond punishment to restoration and productive national use,” he said.
He noted that anti-corruption enforcement sanitises the fiscal space, strengthens federal and sub-national revenue, returns working capital to institutions, companies and citizens, supports financial-market integrity, protects the extractive and digital economies and strengthens Nigeria’s international credibility.
He added that it also produces a “deterrence dividend,” stating that every successful prosecution and every asset stripped from criminal enterprise reduces the expected cost of economic crime.
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. The Commission also recorded the forfeiture of 102 tonnes of solid minerals. Proceeds from disposal under final forfeiture orders amounted to approximately ₦12.07 billion and were paid to the Federal Government.
Olukoyede said the Commission’s work during the period also contributed to improving the integrity of Nigeria’s financial system. Sustained enforcement in money laundering, terrorist financing, asset freezing and confiscation, virtual assets and other higher-risk sectors formed part of Nigeria’s wider national effort to address deficiencies in the anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism framework.
He noted that Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Grey List in October 2025 was a national achievement, and the Commission’s casework and enforcement activities formed part of that collective effort.
In the foreign-exchange market, enforcement against unlicensed bureaux de change reinforced the regulatory reforms of the Central Bank of Nigeria. The Commission recorded 234 BDC cases and 73 convictions within the last three years. “The overarching objective is to support a more formal, transparent and compliant retail foreign-exchange market and close channels vulnerable to illicit finance, speculation and round-tripping. This has improved macroeconomic stability with long-term benefits for the average citizen,” he said.
On institutional reform and restructuring, Olukoyede observed consequential improvement in the Commission’s processes and procedures, which partly explain the impact made across all law enforcement metrics.
Reforms that strengthened the Commission during the period include new guidelines on arrest and bail, a review of sting operations, the establishment of the Department of Fraud Risk Assessment and Control, the Security Department, the Immigration and Visa Section and the Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre.
In addition, the Enugu and Ilorin directorates were commissioned within the period, and new directorates were established in Ekiti, Anambra and Katsina states, significantly improving citizens’ access to the Commission.
Olukoyede also instituted policies on gifts and hospitality, conflict of interest and exhibit-room security. He re-named and re-structured the Internal Affairs Department as the Ethics and Integrity Department to reflect the Commission’s commitment to internal cleansing under his leadership.
The Commission is also investing heavily in digitalisation projects. “At the moment, almost 60 per cent of our processes and operations have been digitalised. Continuing investment in innovation and digitisation, the new Academy and EFCC 24/7 Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre (E-C2R2) as a strategic response to the growing complexity of cyber-enabled financial crimes and EFCC Radio,” he said.
In general, Olukoyede observed that the past 34 months have been a period of sustained enforcement, institutional reform, prosecution, asset recovery, restitution and stronger collaboration at home and abroad.