EFCC Uncovers Officials With Hundreds Of Houses, Millions In Assets

EFCC Uncovers Officials With Hundreds Of Houses, Millions In Assets

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) receives more than 20,000 petitions about public sector corruption every year, the commission’s chairman, Ola Olukoyede, has said.

Olukoyede disclosed this in Abuja while speaking at the 80th birthday celebration of former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Kanu Agabi.

He said the large number of petitions showed the seriousness of corruption in Nigeria.

According to him, some EFCC investigations have uncovered cases involving public officials whose financial positions changed greatly after they assumed office.

“I receive over 20,000 petitions in a year in respect of public corruption, all terrible. What is going on? Every minute, public officers take money, and if you go through some of our case files, you will weep,” he said.

The EFCC chairman said corruption should not be treated only as a matter for law enforcement agencies because ordinary Nigerians also suffer the consequences.

He called on Nigerians to work together to reject the diversion of public resources by government officials.

“The way people take national resources, as Nigerians, we’re victims of these fraudulent activities. And we must come together for once in our lifetime and say no to the activities of some of our leaders,” Olukoyede said.

He also said EFCC investigations had in some cases traced large amounts of money and property to public servants who had relatively modest financial positions before taking office.

Olukoyede said some officials were allegedly linked to millions of dollars and naira after spending only three or four years in public office.

He added that some individuals had also been linked to the ownership of dozens or even hundreds of houses.

“Somebody will spend three to four years as a public servant, but before he got to office, he had less than N100,000 in his account. By the time he’s leaving, we were able to trace several millions of dollars and naira to him,” he said.

“Some build 50-something houses, sometimes 200 houses. There’s no way a nation will develop with those kinds of people in power, no way,” he added.

Olukoyede said public officials must be ready to explain how they manage public resources, stressing the importance of transparency and accountability.

Also speaking at the event, the chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Musa Adamu Aliyu, identified public tolerance of corruption and weak institutions as major factors allowing the practice to continue.

“The major challenge of corruption in this country is that we tolerate the culture of corruption; that is why it is thriving. Secondly, we have systemic errors; our systems are weak,” Aliyu said.

The ICPC chairman called for integrity education to start from an early age, especially in primary and secondary schools.

He said young Nigerians should be taught values that promote honesty, accountability and responsible citizenship.

Aliyu also urged stakeholders to engage Generation Z and Generation Alpha on the importance of integrity and responsible citizenship.