EFCC Chairman Urges National Assembly To Pass Unexplained Wealth Bill

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, on Tuesday appealed to the National Assembly to pass a law against unexplained wealth, saying Nigeria cannot win the war against corruption without legal backing to hold public officers accountable for assets far beyond their legitimate earnings.

Olukoyede made the appeal at the National Conference on Public Accounts and Fiscal Governance organised by the Public Accounts Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives in Abuja.

He described the magnitude of public sector corruption as disturbing.

“In the last three weeks, we started a commission-wide investigation into the extractive industry, particularly the oil and gas sector. What we have discovered is mind-boggling. And we have only just opened the books. So much more corruption is to be unraveled. If this is what we’re seeing at the surface, imagine what lies beneath,” he said.

Olukoyede blamed fiscal rascality and mismanagement of public funds for Nigeria’s economic and security problems.

“There is a strong connection between the mismanagement of our resources and insecurity. When you look at banditry, kidnapping, and terrorism, trace them back, and you will find a pattern of corrupt practices and diversion of funds that were meant to improve people’s lives,” he said.

The EFCC chairman lamented how investigations into public officials often stall because the law requires a “predicate offence” such as theft or fraud before assets can be seized.

“Help me pass the Unexplained Wealth Bill. I’ve been begging for the past year. This same Bill was thrown out by the last Assembly. If we don’t make individuals accountable for what they have, we’ll never get it right.

“Someone has worked in a ministry for 20 years. We calculate their entire salary and allowances. Then we find five properties — two in Maitama, three in Asokoro. Yet, we’re told to go and prove a predicate offence before we can act. That is absurd,” he said.

Olukoyede also disclosed that the EFCC secured the conviction of 146 out of 194 foreigners arrested for cybersecurity-related financial crimes in 2024.