Anti-graft Agency Dismisses More Than 40 Staff Over Corruption, Financial Misconduct
Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has dismissed more than 40 of its personnel over alleged corruption and financial malpractice during the past two-and-a-half to three years.
EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede disclosed this on Monday in Abuja while briefing journalists on the commission’s performance since he assumed office in October 2023.
Olukoyede said more than five of the dismissed officers are already facing prosecution, while case files involving others are being prepared for possible prosecution. He said the decision reflects the commission’s position that personnel investigating corruption must also be held accountable when they engage in financial misconduct.
The EFCC has also strengthened its internal oversight structure. According to reports, its Department of Internal Affairs has been renamed the Department of Ethics and Integrity, while a new policy requires officers to declare certain gifts and hospitality to help prevent conflicts of interest.
Olukoyede said the reforms were necessary to ensure that investigators and prosecutors maintain the same standards of integrity expected from the people they investigate.
The disclosure comes as the EFCC highlights its wider enforcement record under Olukoyede. The commission says it has recovered more than N1.23 trillion and $684 million between October 2023 and June 2026 and secured more than 10,000 convictions during the period.
However, the dismissal of more than 40 employees also highlights a difficult issue for Nigeria’s anti-corruption campaign: an agency tasked with fighting corruption must continually police its own ranks to maintain public confidence.
For the EFCC, the prosecutions of former personnel could therefore become an important test of whether its internal accountability measures are as rigorous as the standards it seeks to impose on suspects outside the agency.This version keeps the allegations properly attributed and separates dismissal from criminal conviction, since prosecution does not itself establish guilt.
