EFCC Dismisses Over 40 Staff For Corruption, Prosecutes Five

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has dismissed more than 40 of its personnel for alleged corruption and financial malpractice in the past three years, while at least five others are facing prosecution.

EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja during a media interactive session marking his three-year tenure at the commission.

Olukoyede said the disciplinary actions were part of efforts to ensure that officers of the anti-graft agency were subjected to the same accountability standards it demands of members of the public.

He said, “In the past two and a half to three years of my service, I have 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.”

According to him, while some of the affected officers have already been taken to court, case files involving others are being prepared for prosecution.

The EFCC chairman said the commission could not afford to treat corruption within its ranks differently from similar offences committed by people investigated by the agency.

“You can follow those cases in court; they are public knowledge. 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.

Olukoyede stressed that EFCC personnel must maintain high ethical standards if the commission is to retain credibility in its fight against financial crimes.

“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.

As part of what he described as an internal cleansing exercise, the chairman announced the renaming of the commission’s former Internal Affairs Department as the Department of Ethics and Integrity.

He said the restructuring was designed to strengthen internal oversight and promote ethical conduct among personnel.

The commission has also introduced a new gift policy aimed at preventing conflicts of interest and improving transparency among its officers.

Olukoyede explained that personnel would be required to declare gifts above a prescribed value, including gifts received from friends and relatives within and outside Nigeria.

The policy, he added, would specify the categories of gifts officers could accept and require them to account for their sources of income and standard of living.

The EFCC chairman also argued that the fight against corruption could not be won through arrests and prosecutions alone, stressing the need to tackle weaknesses in the systems that create opportunities for financial crimes.

“The most effective system that fights financial crime is not law enforcement. It is the policy regime, institutional reforms that close leakages,” he said.

He called for stronger institutional reforms and policy measures capable of blocking avenues for corruption, while urging the media and civil society organisations to strengthen their watchdog functions.

Olukoyede maintained that the commission’s internal accountability measures were necessary to ensure that its personnel remained above reproach while carrying out their mandate against corruption and financial crimes.