The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it recovered ₦1.233 trillion in monetary assets during the 34 months of Ola Olukoyede’s tenure as Executive Chairman, describing the figure as a record for the anti-graft agency.
Olukoyede disclosed this on Monday, August 31, 2026, while presenting an account of his stewardship and the activities of the Commission since assuming office in October 2023.
According to the EFCC chairman, total naira recoveries during the period stood at ₦1,233,612,040,411.11.
The Commission also recovered $684,478,457.32, £373,905.78 and €9,343,803.66 within the period.
Olukoyede said approximately ₦397.26 billion, representing 33 per cent of the naira recovery, was recovered directly for the Federal Government.
The remaining ₦836.34 billion, representing 67 per cent, was recovered on behalf of ministries, departments and agencies, state revenue services, companies, individuals and foreign victims.
He said the figures showed that “two out of every three naira recovered were on behalf of beneficiaries other than the federal government.”
EFCC Secures 10,872 Convictions
On prosecution, Olukoyede said the Commission received 49,673 petitions, investigated 39,615 cases, filed 14,476 cases in court and secured 10,872 convictions between October 2023 and July 2026.
He said the figures represented a conviction-to-filing ratio of 75.1 per cent.
In the first half of 2026 alone, the EFCC secured 1,370 convictions from 1,889 cases filed in court.
Olukoyede attributed the results to what he described as a prosecutorial approach focused on evidence and courtroom outcomes.
Cybercrime, Fraud Dominate Cases
The EFCC chairman said analysis of petitions and cases showed significant changes in Nigeria’s financial crime landscape.
According to him, the Commission recorded 46,288 offences across nine major categories between 2024 and 2026 year-to-date.
He said advance fee fraud and cybercrime accounted for nearly two-thirds of the recorded offences.
Olukoyede added that total recorded offences increased by 24.1 per cent between 2024 and 2025, with notable increases in procurement fraud, bank fraud, cybercrime and economic governance offences.
“This tells us that the fight against economic and financial crime is not only about grand corruption. Every day, we are protecting citizens, businesses and institutions from fraud, cyber-enabled crime and other forms of economic exploitation,” he said.
₦661bn, $492m Released to Beneficiaries
Olukoyede stressed that asset recovery was only meaningful when recovered proceeds were returned to the public interest or rightful beneficiaries.
He disclosed that ₦661.32 billion and $492.37 million were released to beneficiaries during the period under review.
The naira releases included approximately ₦325.35 billion paid directly to individuals and corporate bodies, while ₦335.97 billion was released to ministries, departments and agencies, the Nigerian Revenue Service and state internal revenue services, among other beneficiaries.
The EFCC also recorded significant tax recoveries.
Olukoyede said federal and state tax recoveries amounted to approximately ₦288.1 billion, comprising about ₦173.2 billion in federal tax recoveries and ₦114.9 billion attributed to state Internal Revenue Services.
He clarified that the recoveries represented enforcement of existing tax obligations rather than the introduction of new taxes.
The Commission also recovered approximately ₦257.2 billion for federal ministries, departments and agencies.
EFCC Recovers Assets, 102 Tonnes of Minerals
Beyond monetary recoveries, Olukoyede disclosed that the EFCC secured forfeiture of 10,053 tangible assets through interim and final court orders between October 2023 and July 2026.
The assets included 8,198 electronic devices, 1,177 real estate properties, 370 automobiles and 251 plots of land.
Other forfeited assets included schools, factories, hotels, shops, oil rigs, barges, machinery and aircraft.
The Commission also secured forfeiture of 102 tonnes of solid minerals.
According to Olukoyede, proceeds from the disposal of assets under final forfeiture orders amounted to approximately ₦12.07 billion, which was paid to the Federal Government.
Recovered Funds Support Education, Credit
Olukoyede highlighted the use of recovered proceeds for national development, particularly education and consumer credit.
He recalled the Federal Government’s directive in August 2024 for ₦50 billion each to be allocated from EFCC recoveries to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation.
He said an additional ₦50 billion each was provided to the two institutions in 2026 from EFCC recoveries.
Olukoyede also recalled that a forfeited private institution, formerly NOK University, was converted into the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, Kaduna State.
According to him, 1,909 students were matriculated into the university in December 2025.
He further disclosed that another high-value private university had been forfeited to the Federal Government.
“When recovered criminal value helps finance education and household credit, enforcement moves beyond punishment to restoration and productive national use,” he said.
920 Specialised Cases Recorded
The EFCC chairman said the Commission also handled 920 specialised cases involving money laundering, unlicensed bureaux de change, illegal mining, virtual assets and terrorist financing.
He said 212 convictions had been secured from the specialised enforcement portfolio, with investigations and prosecutions continuing in several other cases.
Money laundering and unlicensed bureau de change cases accounted for the largest share, while the Commission had also intensified its response to emerging risks involving virtual assets and illicit financial flows from the extractive sector.
Nigeria Removed From FATF Grey List
Olukoyede linked the Commission’s enforcement activities to broader efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism framework.
He noted that Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Grey List in October 2025 was a national achievement to which the EFCC’s investigations and enforcement activities contributed.
In the foreign exchange market, he said enforcement against unlicensed bureaux de change complemented reforms by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The EFCC recorded 234 BDC-related cases and 73 convictions within the three-year period.
Olukoyede said the objective was to support a more formal and transparent retail foreign-exchange market while closing channels vulnerable to illicit financial flows, speculation and round-tripping.
EFCC Introduces Institutional Reforms
Olukoyede also highlighted several institutional reforms introduced during his tenure.
These include new guidelines on arrest and bail, a review of sting operations, and the establishment of the Department of Fraud Risk Assessment and Control, Security Department, Immigration and Visa Section and Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre.
The Commission commissioned new directorates in Enugu and Ilorin and established additional directorates in Ekiti, Anambra and Katsina states.
According to the EFCC chairman, the expansion has improved citizens’ access to the Commission.
He also introduced policies covering gifts and hospitality, conflict of interest and exhibit-room security.
The Internal Affairs Department was renamed and restructured as the Ethics and Integrity Department as part of efforts to strengthen internal accountability.
EFCC Says 60% of Operations Now Digitalised
Olukoyede said the Commission had also made significant progress in digital transformation, with almost 60 per cent of its processes and operations now digitalised.
He identified continued investment in technology, the new EFCC Academy, the EFCC 24/7 Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre (E-C2R2) and EFCC Radio as part of the Commission’s efforts to respond to increasingly sophisticated financial crimes.
Summing up his stewardship, Olukoyede said the past 34 months had been marked by sustained enforcement, institutional reform, prosecution, asset recovery, restitution and stronger collaboration with partners within and outside Nigeria.
