The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has given a firm assurance that no assets recovered by the Commission will be mismanaged under his leadership.
Olukoyede made the pledge while rejecting calls for the creation of a single agency to manage all assets recovered by government agencies. He argued that such an arrangement would be impractical given the scale of recoveries across the country.
He stated that the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act provides a more appropriate framework by placing responsibility for recovered assets on the agencies that recover them.
“POCA got it right by placing the duty on each agency: what did you recover, and what have you done with it? That, alongside Section 31 of the EFCC Act, is the most effective model anywhere in the world. So hold every agency to it,” he stated.
“Ours goes up on our website within 24 hours, and our annual report has gone to the National Assembly on time every year of my tenure. My pledge to Nigerians: not a pin nor a penny of recovered assets will be mismanaged under my watch,” Olukoyede said.
The EFCC Chairman further noted that the Commission recovered more than N1.23 trillion, $684.48 million, £373,905.78 and €9.34 million between October 2023 and June 2026. Of this, N661.32 billion and $492.37 million have been released to beneficiaries.
He added that proceeds from the disposal of finally forfeited assets amounted to approximately N12.07 billion and had been paid to the Federal Government.