The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening its partnership with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the fight against corruption, cybercrime, and other organized crimes. This commitment was made during a courtesy visit by a UNODC delegation, led by its Country Representative, Mr. Cheick Ousman Toure, to EFCC's Executive Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, at the Commission's headquarters in Abuja on July 29, 2025.
During the meeting, Toure emphasized the UNODC's new strategic approach to partnership with Nigeria, which involves a jointly developed country programme. This programme will serve as a five-year blueprint for Nigeria and aims to address key challenges such as illicit financial flows, cybercrime, and illegal mining. Toure also highlighted the need for more sustainable and regionally driven solutions, given the projected cut in U.S. foreign aid.
Olukoyede expressed delight with the longstanding collaboration between the EFCC and UNODC and declared the Commission's readiness to expand the scope of cooperation in line with emerging trends in organized crime. He emphasized the importance of regional collaboration and intelligence sharing in tackling transnational organized crime.
The UNODC and EFCC discussed several key areas, including:
The UNODC pledged to support the EFCC in addressing cybercrime, given Nigeria's alignment with the Budapest Convention.
The EFCC identified illegal mining as a significant avenue for money laundering and welcomed UNODC's support in addressing this challenge.
The EFCC and UNODC emphasized the need for deeper regional collaboration and intelligence sharing to tackle transnational organized crime.
Both parties expressed their commitment to strengthening their partnership and working together to address the challenges of corruption, cybercrime, and organized crime in Nigeria and the region.
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