The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has dismissed 27 of its officers from service for fraud and other acts of misconduct.
A statement from the agency said on Monday that the purge followed the recommendation of the Staff Disciplinary Committee of the EFCC ratified by the chairperson of the commission, Ola Olukoyede.
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However, the statement did not reveal the identities of the 27 affected officials and the cases against them, a repeat of similar announcement by Mr Olukoyede in November 2024 of the dismissal of two corrupt officials of the agency.
Monday’s statement of the commission only promised to investigate all allegations of fraud and misconduct levelled against its officials.
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“Every modicum of allegation against any staff of the Commission would always be investigated, including a trending $400,000 claim of a yet-to-be-identified supposed staff of the EFCC against a Sectional Head. The core values of the Commission are sacrosanct and would always be held in optimal regard at all times,” the statement said.
In October last year, shortly after his appointment as the EFCC’s chairman, Mr Olukoyede, who formerly served as the secretary of the agency and ex-chief of staff to the commission’s chair for a cumulative period of about four years, asked staff members to declare their assets and prepare for investigations.
“ We will declare our assets, and we are going to investigate it. We must live above board by setting the pace with good examples. As anti- corruption fighters, our hands must be clean, so we must declare our assets,” he said at the corporate headquarters of the commission in Abuja while addressing senior staff of the EFCC on 24 October 2024.
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The gesture came as an acknowledgement of corrupt officials in the agency, confirming public perceptions of involvement of many operatives in corrupt activities.
Meanwhile, the EFCC, Nigeria’s leading anti-corruption agency, has faced criticism on different occasions over concealment of vital details in cases when the public expected full disclosure.
The latest case was when the commission announced the recovery of a vast estate in Abuja measuring 150,500 square metres with 753 units of duplexes and other apartments but withheld the names.
Many Nigerians criticised the commission for concealing the identity of the owners.
EFCC defended its official stance to withhold the details of the ownership, although leaked court filings with which it secured the forfeiture order for the assets linked the vast estate to former Central Bank of Nigeria governor Godwin Emefiele, who is facing corruption charges in separate courts.
Read EFCC’s full statement here.
EFCC Dismisses 27 Officers for Fraudulent Activities, Misconduct
In its quest to enforce integrity and rid its fold of fraudulent elements, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, dismissed twenty seven (27) officers from its workforce in 2024.
The officers were dismissed for various offences bordering on fraudulent activities and misconduct. Their dismissal, FOLLOWING THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE STAFF Disciplinary Committee of the EFCC, was ratified by the Executive Chairman, Mr. Ola Olukoyede.
Olukoyede reiterated the commitment of the Commission to zero tolerance for corruption, warning that no officer is immune to disciplinary measures. Every modicum of allegation against any staff of the Commission would always be investigated, including a trending $400,000 claim of a yet-to-be-identified supposed staff of the EFCC against a Sectional Head. The core values of the Commission are sacrosanct and would always be held in optimal regard at all times.
The Commission also wishes to alert the public of the sinister activities of impersonators and blackmailers using the name of its Executive Chairman to extort money from high-profile suspects being investigated by the EFCC.
Two members of an alleged syndicate, Ojobo Joshua and Aliyu Hashim were recently arraigned before Justice Jude Onwuebuzie of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court, Abuja for allegedly contacting a former Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Mr. Mohammed Bello-Kaka and demanding $1million from him for “Olukoyede to give him soft landing” on a non-existing investigation. Such characters are still on the loose seeking victims.
Olukoyede remains a man of integrity that cannot be swayed by monetary influences. The public is enjoined to always report such disreputable elements to the Commission.
READ ALSO: Sustaining EFCC and ICPC rebound: A critical analysis, By Zainab Suleiman Okino
Additionally, the EFCC is aware of moves being hatched in some quarters to blackmail officers of the Commission through unwholesome means. Suspects being investigated for some economic and financial crimes who have failed to compromise their investigators would always clutch at any straw. Such blackmailers should not be accorded any form of attention.
Dele Oyewale
Head, Media & Publicity
January 6, 2025
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