The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has achieved an unprecedented financial recovery of more than ₦1.23 trillion in naira and hundreds of millions of dollars during the 34 months of Ola Olukoyede’s tenure as chairman.
Olukoyede disclosed this on Monday, August 31, 2026, while giving an account of his stewardship since assuming office.
According to figures released by the commission, naira recoveries during the period reached ₦1,233,612,040,411.11, described as an all-time high for the EFCC.
The commission also recovered $684,478,457.32, £373,905.78 and €9,343,803.66 within the period.
Olukoyede explained that the bulk of the naira recovery was not money belonging directly to the Federal Government.
He said approximately ₦397.26 billion, representing 33 per cent of the total naira recovery, was recovered for the Federal Government, while ₦836.34 billion, or 67 per cent, was recovered on behalf of ministries, departments and agencies, state revenue services, companies, individuals and foreign victims.
“Two out of every three naira recovered were on behalf of beneficiaries other than the Federal Government,” the EFCC chairman said.
Beyond asset recovery, the commission recorded a major increase in its prosecution activities, with 10,872 convictions secured from October 2023 to July 2026.
Olukoyede said the EFCC received 49,673 petitions during the period, investigated 39,615 cases and filed 14,476 cases in court, resulting in a conviction-to-filing ratio of 75.1 per cent.
He added that the commission secured 1,370 convictions from 1,889 cases filed in the first half of 2026 alone.
The EFCC boss said the figures reflected what he described as a prosecutorial strategy focused on evidence gathering and successful courtroom outcomes.
On the changing nature of financial crimes in the country, Olukoyede said analysis of EFCC petitions and cases between 2024 and 2026 showed 46,288 offences across nine major categories.
Advance fee fraud and cybercrime, he said, accounted for almost two-thirds of the recorded offences.
He added that recorded offences increased by 24.1 per cent between 2024 and 2025, with significant rises in procurement fraud, bank fraud, cybercrime and economic-governance offences.
Olukoyede said the figures demonstrated that the EFCC’s mandate extended beyond the prosecution of high-level corruption.
According to him, the commission was increasingly dealing with crimes directly affecting citizens, businesses and public institutions, particularly fraud and cyber-enabled financial crimes.
The EFCC also reported significant recoveries returned to beneficiaries during the period.
Olukoyede said ₦661.32 billion and $492.37 million had been released to beneficiaries, with the naira releases comprising ₦325.35 billion paid directly to individuals and corporate organisations and ₦335.97 billion released to government ministries, departments and agencies, the Nigerian Revenue Service and state internal revenue services, among others.
The commission also recorded about ₦288.1 billion in tax recoveries for federal and state authorities.
This comprised approximately ₦173.2 billion in federal tax recoveries and ₦114.9 billion recovered for state Internal Revenue Services.
In addition, about ₦257.2 billion in naira recoveries were recorded for federal ministries, departments and agencies.
Olukoyede said recovered proceeds had also been deployed to national development initiatives.
He cited the Federal Government’s directive for ₦50 billion each to be allocated to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund and the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation from proceeds of crime in 2024, with another ₦50 billion each provided to the two institutions from EFCC recoveries in 2026.
He also disclosed that the former NOK University, which was forfeited to the Federal Government, had been 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, while another high-value private university has also been forfeited to the Federal Government.
The EFCC chairman said the commission’s asset recovery drive extended beyond cash.
Between October 2023 and July 2026, he said, the commission secured the forfeiture of 10,053 tangible assets through interim and final court orders.
The assets included 8,198 electronic devices, 1,177 real estate properties, 370 vehicles and 251 plots of land, as well as schools, factories, hotels, shops, oil rigs, barges, machinery and aircraft.
The commission also secured the forfeiture of 102 tonnes of solid minerals.
Olukoyede said proceeds from the disposal of assets under final forfeiture orders amounted to approximately ₦12.07 billion and were paid into the coffers of the Federal Government.
He further disclosed that the EFCC’s specialised enforcement operations recorded 920 cases involving money laundering, unlicensed bureaux de change, illegal mining, virtual assets and terrorist financing, with 212 convictions secured.
On foreign exchange-related crimes, he said the commission handled 234 bureaux de change cases and secured 73 convictions within the last three years.
He said the enforcement was aimed at supporting a more transparent and compliant foreign exchange market while shutting channels vulnerable to illicit financial flows, speculation and round-tripping.
Olukoyede also linked the commission’s enforcement activities to Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Grey List in October 2025, describing the development as a national achievement in which the EFCC’s casework and enforcement activities played a part.
On institutional reforms, the EFCC chairman said his administration had introduced several measures aimed at improving the commission’s effectiveness and internal accountability.
Among the reforms are new guidelines on arrest and bail, a review of sting operations, the establishment of the Department of Fraud Risk Assessment and Control, Security Department, Immigration and Visa Section and the Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre.
The commission also expanded its physical presence, with new directorates established in Ekiti, Anambra and Katsina states, while directorates in Enugu and Ilorin were commissioned during the period.
Olukoyede said the Internal Affairs Department had also been renamed and restructured as the Ethics and Integrity Department as part of efforts to strengthen internal discipline.
He disclosed that almost 60 per cent of the commission’s processes and operations had now been digitalised.
Other initiatives include the development of a new EFCC Academy, the EFCC 24/7 Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre and EFCC Radio.
Olukoyede said the 34-month period had been characterised by sustained enforcement, prosecution, asset recovery, restitution, institutional reforms and increased cooperation with local and international partners.
He maintained that the impact of the commission’s work should not be measured only by the amount of money recovered but also by the restoration of assets to legitimate beneficiaries, strengthening of public institutions and the deterrent effect of successful prosecutions.
According to him, every successful prosecution and forfeiture reduces the incentive and expected gains associated with economic and financial crimes.
