The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has disclosed that the anti-graft agency is currently investigating 18 serving Nigerian governors.
Olukoyede made the revelation on Friday in Lagos during a stakeholders’ sensitization campaign against naira abuse, stressing that the EFCC now begins investigations before governors complete their tenures.
Citing one dramatic example, the EFCC boss narrated how a former governor, just a day after handing over, flew to the UK to celebrate his birthday and was arrested while spraying £50 notes in a hotel. “The hotel staff thought he was mentally unstable and called the police,” Olukoyede said. “He was arrested by the Metropolitan Police but was handed over to the EFCC after two of his governor-friends intervened. He was later prosecuted, jailed, and eventually pardoned.”
He used the incident to underscore how seriously foreign countries treat currency abuse, warning that the same must apply in Nigeria. “The naira is not just a means of exchange. It is a symbol of our sovereignty,” he said. “There’s nothing cultural or traditional about spraying or stamping the naira. The EFCC will not succumb to blackmail in enforcing this law.”
Olukoyede further revealed that the EFCC is actively contributing to President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda by ensuring that proceeds of recovered loot are redirected to national development efforts. So far, he said, ₦50 billion has been committed to the NELFUND student loan scheme, while part of the funds recovered from the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was used to build a skills acquisition centre and NDDC’s new headquarters in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
Another notable recovery, according to him, was a private university built with embezzled ₦12 billion by a former civil service director. The university has since been seized and renamed the University of Applied Sciences, Kashia, Kaduna.
Olukoyede also noted that 168 out of 194 foreigners recently arrested in Lagos for illegal cryptocurrency transactions have been convicted. “We’re serious about cleaning up our economy and restoring confidence among foreign investors,” he said. “Fraudulent activities such as Yahoo Yahoo have severely damaged our global image. There was a time Nigerian passports could get you into 12 developed countries visa-free—now, even Ghana and Cameroon enjoy better passport rankings.”
On the challenges of prosecuting politically exposed persons (PEPs), the EFCC boss said many of them use legal technicalities to frustrate their trials. “I personally filed over 5,000 corruption cases last year. Over 65% involved civil servants and politically exposed persons,” he disclosed. “One former governor delayed trial for 11 years using interlocutory injunctions from the Federal High Court to the Supreme Court.”
“We face immense pressure in this work—high-level calls, threats, and even having to relocate from our homes,” he added.
To prevent corruption before it starts, Olukoyede said he established a Fraud Risk Assessment Unit, which has blocked the theft of ₦10 billion within its first year. The Commission also launched an anti-corruption radio station, EFCC 97.3 FM, dedicated to public enlightenment and fraud prevention.
Also speaking at the event, the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Isa Onilu, called on Nigerians to respect the naira as a matter of national ethics and civic duty. “The abuse of the naira is both unlawful and unethical,” he said. “It contradicts the National Values Charter. Our campaigns are ongoing across TV and radio platforms to sensitize citizens.”
The sensitization campaign comes amid growing concern over naira mutilation at social events and increasing demand for financial discipline at all levels of society.
