Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, has announced that the anti-graft agency has forfeited cash and assets worth more than $500 million to the Federal Government in the past three years. Olukoyede made the disclosure on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, while delivering a lecture at the 43rd Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime in the United Kingdom.
Speaking at the prestigious event, the EFCC boss declared, "Within three years of my assumption of office, we've been able to forfeit both cash and assets worth over half a billion dollars to the government". He attributed the commission's success in securing non-conviction-based forfeiture orders to three key factors: the ability of investigators to trace assets, cooperation from the judiciary, and access to credible intelligence. Olukoyede also noted that several EFCC investigators had received training at leading institutions around the world.
In a move designed to encourage the recovery of illicitly acquired assets, Olukoyede announced that the EFCC is offering whistleblowers up to 5 per cent of recovered stolen Nigerian assets for information leading to the recovery of such assets held abroad. "I welcome all of you to the world of whistleblowing. If any one of you is privy to where Nigerian assets are stolen or taken to anywhere in the world, we have an incentive for you; between 2.5% and 5%, it's going to go back to you upon recovery," he said.
The EFCC chairman explained that Nigeria's legal framework empowers the commission to seek forfeiture of assets suspected to be proceeds of crime without waiting for a criminal conviction, a provision similar to what is obtainable in countries such as Australia and Canada. "You apply ex parte to the High Court upon a probable suspicion of the proceeds of crime," he explained.
Olukoyede cited several major recoveries to illustrate the commission's effectiveness. He detailed the recent forfeiture of an aircraft allegedly linked to a member of a monitoring committee for a power project in Nigeria. "We discovered he collected a bribe of about $30 million in Nigeria. He forfeited that about three months ago and it has been added to the presidential air fleet at the moment," Olukoyede said. He noted that the forfeiture was secured within two months of the commission's application to the court.
The EFCC boss also disclosed that the commission had secured the forfeiture of a property containing about 753 housing units from a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. "We have criminal charges against him in about three courts," he added.
Furthermore, Olukoyede revealed that an investigation into former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, had led the commission to trace 57 properties allegedly linked to him. "Sometimes last year, I opened investigations upon reasonable suspicion of criminal abuse of office by the immediate past attorney-general of Nigeria," he said. "We discovered that within eight years of his being in office, we were able to trace about 57 such properties to him. We've been able to forfeit about 48".
Olukoyede also cited the forfeiture of a private university allegedly linked to a director in the Federal Ministry of Health, saying the official voluntarily surrendered the property following an EFCC investigation. He stressed that an effective and proactive judiciary was necessary for non-conviction-based forfeiture to work.
The Cambridge symposium is an annual gathering of economic crime and anti-corruption experts from around the world, with Olukoyede delivering his presentation on the third day of the weeklong event. His announcement of the $500 million recovery and the whistleblower reward scheme underscores the EFCC's determination to intensify the fight against corruption and recover stolen assets, both within Nigeria and abroad.
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