Ola Olanipekun Olukoyede, Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, disclosed at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja on Monday that more than 40 EFCC personnel had been dismissed for alleged corruption and financial malpractice during his nearly three years in office, while more than five others are currently facing prosecution.
The disclosure came as Olukoyede marked three years of stewardship at the anti-graft agency with a media briefing reviewing the commission’s performance, internal reforms and wider approach to combating economic and financial crimes.
Also read: EFCC extradites 2 Nigerians over teen sextortion deaths
The figures offered an unusually candid glimpse into the disciplinary challenges confronting an institution whose credibility depends heavily on the integrity of the officers investigating corruption outside its own walls.
“In the past two and a half to three years of my service, I’ve asked them to dismiss over 40 staff on account of corruption and financial malpractice. More than five of them are being prosecuted at the moment,” Olukoyede said.
The chairman said the commission would not shield its own personnel when they were accused of engaging in the same practices the EFCC investigates among members of the public.
Some of the cases, he explained, are already before the courts, while case files involving other affected officers are being prepared for prosecution.
Olukoyede said the principle was straightforward: an agency charged with enforcing Nigeria’s anti-corruption laws could not credibly demand integrity from the public while overlooking misconduct within its own ranks.
“You must be sure that your hands are clean. You can’t be fighting corruption when your hands are soiled with corrupt practices,” he said.
The internal disciplinary measures form part of a broader attempt by the EFCC chairman to strengthen institutional ethics and restore confidence in the commission.
Among the changes announced was the renaming of the former Internal Affairs Department as the Department of Ethics and Integrity.
The new designation reflects what Olukoyede described as a stronger emphasis on internal discipline and what other reports of the briefing described as an effort at “internal cleansing”.
The commission has also introduced a gift policy aimed at reducing conflicts of interest among its personnel.
Under the policy, officers will be required to declare gifts above a specified value, including gifts received from friends and relatives within Nigeria and abroad.
The EFCC also intends to establish clearer boundaries around the types of gifts officers may accept and to scrutinise explanations concerning officers’ sources of income and standards of living.
The measures are significant because the work of an anti-corruption officer can expose personnel to precisely the temptations and conflicts of interest that the commission is expected to confront.
An investigator who handles sensitive financial information, interacts with suspects and deals with recovered assets operates in an environment where even the appearance of impropriety can undermine public confidence.
Olukoyede’s position is that internal accountability must therefore be treated as part of the EFCC’s core anti-corruption mandate rather than as an administrative afterthought.
The disclosure about the dismissed personnel came alongside a much broader account of the commission’s activities under Olukoyede.
According to figures presented during the three-year review, the EFCC recorded 10,872 convictions and recovered more than ₦1.23 trillion, as well as $684.48 million, during the first 34 months of his administration.
The commission said its recovery figures covered cash and assets linked to economic and financial crimes.
The scale of the recoveries has become one of the central measures used by the agency to demonstrate the reach of its enforcement activities.
However, recoveries and convictions tell only part of the anti-corruption story.
Olukoyede argued that Nigeria cannot prosecute its way out of corruption if institutions continue to leave opportunities for public funds to be stolen.
He called instead for policies and institutional reforms that would close loopholes before public resources disappear.
The argument shifts the focus from punishment to prevention.
For an agency such as the EFCC, successful prosecution is important, but preventing fraudulent transactions from occurring in the first place could have a wider and more lasting impact on public finances.
That approach also places responsibility on government institutions beyond the EFCC.
Weak procurement controls, poor financial oversight, opaque transactions and inadequate accountability can create opportunities for corruption long before investigators become involved.
Olukoyede therefore urged stronger institutional safeguards alongside law enforcement.
He also called on the media and civil society organisations to intensify their watchdog roles, arguing that the fight against corruption cannot be left to law enforcement agencies alone.
The call is particularly relevant in an environment where the effectiveness of anti-corruption agencies is frequently measured against public expectations for transparency, recovered funds and successful prosecutions.
The EFCC itself has previously faced scrutiny over the conduct of some personnel.
In November 2024, Olukoyede confirmed the dismissal of two EFCC officers over allegations of corruption, reinforcing his stated position that disciplinary standards should apply within the commission as well as outside it.
The latest disclosure indicates that the internal disciplinary process has since expanded considerably, with more than 40 personnel dismissed over the period Olukoyede referenced.
The distinction between dismissal and conviction remains important.
Being dismissed for alleged corruption or financial malpractice does not, by itself, establish criminal guilt. Likewise, officers facing prosecution remain entitled to due process and a determination by the courts.
Olukoyede’s disclosure nevertheless sends a strong institutional message: membership of the EFCC is not intended to place an officer beyond scrutiny.
That message may prove as important as the number of personnel removed.
The commission’s legitimacy ultimately depends on whether Nigerians believe its investigators are subject to the same principles of accountability that they demand from suspects, public officials and private individuals.
Olukoyede assumed office as EFCC chairman in October 2023 after President Bola Tinubu appointed him to lead the commission.
His tenure has subsequently been marked by an emphasis on convictions, asset recovery and internal reforms.
Three years into that tenure, the EFCC is presenting a mixed but consequential picture: significant convictions and recoveries on one side, and a substantial internal disciplinary burden on the other.
The dismissal of more than 40 personnel may therefore be read in two ways.
It demonstrates that corruption can penetrate even an agency created to fight financial crime.
But it also suggests that the commission is willing to confront misconduct within its own structure rather than treating internal failures as an embarrassment to be concealed.
For Olukoyede, that distinction appears central to the credibility of the institution.
The harder test, however, will be whether the reforms outlive individual announcements and become embedded in the commission’s everyday culture.
An anti-corruption agency cannot convincingly demand clean hands from Nigeria’s public institutions unless its own officers can demonstrate the same standard.
Also read: EFCC extradites 2 Nigerians over teen sextortion deaths
For the EFCC, the latest internal purge has therefore created both a warning and an opportunity: a warning about the vulnerabilities inside institutions, and an opportunity to prove that accountability begins at home.
David Okere is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering business, governance, public affairs, and human-interest stories with a commitment to accuracy, balance, and public interest reporting.
