The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede, says the agency has achieved remarkable progress in combating economic and financial crimes over the past two years, with recoveries exceeding ₦566 billion, $411 million, and 1,502 properties.
Olukoyede made the disclosure on Thursday, October 23, 2025, while briefing journalists at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja during events marking his second anniversary in office.
Appointed on October 18, 2023, and confirmed by the Senate the following day, the EFCC boss said the Commission has implemented extensive reforms aimed at enhancing investigation, prosecution, and asset recovery processes across the country.
Represented by the EFCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Commander CE Wilson Uwujaren, Olukoyede stated that between October 2023 and September 2025, the Commission received over 19,000 petitions, conducted 29,240 investigations, filed 10,525 cases, and secured 7,503 convictions.
He disclosed that within the same period, the Commission recovered ₦566,319,820,343.40, $411,566,192.32, £71,306.25, and €182,877.10, in addition to other foreign currencies traced to proceeds of corruption and related crimes.
According to Olukoyede, the EFCC also recovered 1,502 non-cash assets, including 402 properties in 2023, 975 in 2024, and 125 so far in 2025.
“Among these are significant assets such as the final forfeiture of 753 duplex units in Lokogoma, Abuja, and the takeover of Nok University, now renamed the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, Kaduna State,” he noted.
Olukoyede described the recoveries as concrete proof of the Commission’s renewed commitment to tracing, seizing, and returning illicit assets to the Nigerian state and defrauded citizens.
He also highlighted several high-profile prosecutions handled during the review period, including cases involving former governors Willie Obiano, Abdulfatah Ahmed, Darius Ishaku, Theodore Orji, and Yahaya Bello, alongside former ministers Olu Agunloye, Mamman Saleh, Hadi Sirika, Charles Ugwu, and former Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
The EFCC Chairman further revealed that in December 2024, operatives arrested 792 suspects linked to cryptocurrency and investment scams in Lagos, including 192 foreign nationals who were prosecuted and subsequently deported.
“This operation sent a clear message that Nigeria will not be used as a safe haven for cybercriminals,” he said.
Olukoyede added that the Commission had revisited and advanced several long-pending corruption cases involving Fred Ajudua, former PDP Chairman Haliru Bello Mohammed, former National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki, and former NSITF boss Ngozi Olojeme.
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He disclosed that a portion of the recovered funds has been channelled into major national programmes, including the Students Loan Scheme and Consumer Credit Scheme, where ₦100 billion has already been invested.
Olukoyede said other agencies such as the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) have benefited from recovered funds.
“Some recovered properties have been assigned to government institutions for use as offices, in line with our commitment to ensure that recovered assets serve productive purposes,” he explained.
He also cited the establishment of the Task Force on Naira Abuse and Dollarisation of the Economy, which he said has significantly helped to sanitise currency operations across the country.
Olukoyede reaffirmed the EFCC’s commitment to transparency, accountability, and aggressive asset recovery in support of Nigeria’s economic stability and good governance.