EFCC Fires 40 Over Corruption, Drags Five to Court

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has dismissed more than 40 of its personnel over allegations of corruption and financial malpractice, with at least five of the affected officers currently facing prosecution

Chairman of the Commission, Ola Olukoyede, disclosed this on Monday while briefing journalists at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja on the achievements of the anti-graft agency under his leadership.

Olukoyede said the disciplinary actions were taken over the past two and a half to three years as part of efforts to ensure that officials entrusted with the responsibility of fighting corruption do not engage in the same practices they are mandated to investigate and prosecute.

“In the past two and a half years or 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,” he said.

The EFCC boss said the Commission had adopted a firm stance against internal misconduct, insisting that corrupt officials within the agency should not merely be dismissed while offenders in other institutions are investigated and prosecuted

“Because if that is what people do in other agencies and I arrest them, I investigate them, I prosecute them, why must I just dismiss you if you do it within our own system and I’m not prosecuting you?” he asked.

According to him, some of the cases involving the affected officers are already before the courts and can be followed by members of the public, while investigations into others are being concluded ahead of possible prosecution.

Olukoyede also disclosed that the Commission had renamed its former Department of Internal Affairs as the Department of Ethics and Integrity as part of efforts to deepen accountability and strengthen ethical standards within the agency.

He said the restructuring was aimed at further sanitising the EFCC and ensuring that its personnel operate in line with the highest standards of integrity.

The EFCC chairman further revealed that the Commission had introduced a gift policy to prevent its personnel from receiving benefits that could compromise their official responsibilities.

Under the policy, officers are expected to declare gifts above a specified threshold, including those received from relatives living abroad.

He added that the Commission would clearly define the categories of gifts that personnel could accept, stressing that officers must be able to explain their lifestyles and sources of wealth.

Olukoyede maintained that EFCC officials must lead by example, warning that personnel whose hands were tainted by corruption could not credibly prosecute others for similar offences.

“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.