Author: Kunle Edun

“ If  I am not condemned for investigating both former and serving strong ruling party Governors and Ministers,  I should not be condemned for also investigating opposition figures – EFCC Executive Chairman,  Ola  Olukoyede The African Democratic Congress, ADC’s unprovoked attack on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,   EFCC, concerning its handling of cases involving politically exposed persons from every divide, came as a rude shock and unwarranted blame game.  Every objective and discerning watcher of events in the national political scene, would admit that the Commission has been circumspect and dispassionate in the exercise of its mandate.     The…

Justices H.H. Kereng and Abdulhamid Yakubu of the  Gombe State High Court 2 and 3 sitting in Gombe,  Gombe  State on August 5, 2025 convicted and sentenced Maigari Abba, Joseph Samuel Bulus, Kasheaure Joseph, Emmanuel Dilibe, Livite Ibrahim and  Awolowo Martins to various jail terms for fraud. The convicts were separately arraigned on one -count charge bordering on breach of trust, cheating and impersonation by the Gombe Zonal Directorate  of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,  EFCC. ‎The charge against Joseph Samuel Bulus reads: “That you, Joseph Samuel Bulus, sometimes between 2024 and 2025, at Gombe, Gombe state, within the jurisdiction of…

The Kano Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday, August 5, 2025 arraigned  five officials of the Katsina State Board of Internal Revenue  and one bank staff before Justice Musa Danladi of the  Katsina State High Court sitting in Katsina,  Katsina State.  They were arraigned on seven-count charges bordering on conspiracy and diversion of public funds totaling N1, 235, 330,000 (One Billion, Two Hundred and Thirty Five Million, Three Hundred and Thirty  Thousand, Naira) accruing to the state from the  World Health Organization, Medicins Sans Frontiers, Alliance for International Medical Action, ALIMA. The defendants are,  Nura Lawal, Sanusi Mohammed Yaro, Ibrahim…

A three-man panel of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, restored the preservation order on 14 properties and the sum of N400m linked to Yahaya Bello, a former governor of Kogi State.  Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos had, on February 22, 2023, in a suit filed by the Lagos Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, ordered the preservation of the properties, including “Hotel Apartment Community, Burj Khalifa lying, being and situate at, Plot 160 Municipality NO 345-7562, Sky View Building No 1, Property No 401,…

Against the furore generated by an unsubstantiated report by an online portal,  People’s Gazette alleging that the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Ola Olukoyede  “abducted the head of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Ltd… and forcing him to resign at a secret rendezvous in Abuja”,  the EFCC’s boss has demanded a retraction of the story and public apology  within 48 hours. People’s  Gazette, had, on Saturday,  August 2, 2025 carried a sensational and poorly-sourced story that Olukoyede and Adeola Ajayi,  Director General of the Department of State Security,  DSS,  pressured Bayo Ojulari,  GCEO of NNPCL to sign…

In response to a distress call by residents of Majesty Estate, Nigerian Television Authority,  NTA Road, Port Harcourt,  Rivers State,  concerning the nefarious activities of internet fraudsters in their neighbourhood,  operatives of the Port Harcourt Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC,  on Friday, August 1, 2025 carried out a sting operation that yielded 37 suspected fraudsters.  In the course of the operation, the apartment of one of the residents that the Commission’s intelligence flagged was visited.  For some inexplicable reasons,   the residents refused to open their doors even when operatives of the Commission properly introduced themselves…

The Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC,  on Thursday , July 31, 2025, arraigned  one Iwunze Ikechukwu Favour on a one-count charge bordering on stealing to the tune of N208,384,000.00 ( Two Hundred and Eight Million,  Three Hundred and Eighty Four Thousand Naira only)  before Justice Mojisola Dada of the Lagos  State High Court sitting in Ikeja , Lagos.  The counts reads: “That you, Iwunze Ikechukwu Favour, sometime between January and December 2024, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with a dishonest intent, stole and converted to your own use the sum of N208,384,000.00 (Two Hundred…

The Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Thursday,  July 31, 2025, arraigned one Olabode Rasheed Wale on a two-count charge bordering on stealing before Justice Mojisola Dada of  Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos. He was arrested, following an intelligence report received by the Commission linking him to the fraudulent activities of an Organized Cyber Crimes Syndicate Network, OCSN. Count one reads: “That you, Olabode Rasheed Wale, sometime within August 2024 and March 2025, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with a dishonest intent, stole and converted to your own…

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC, Uyo Zonal Directorate, on Thursday, July 31, 2025, arrested eighteen suspected internet fraudsters at Ikot Ekpene, Nelson Mandela Street, Ikot-Udoro, and Tippa Road all in Akwa Ibom State. The intelligence- driven sting operation led to the arrest of the suspected fraudsters, whose ages fall between 19 and 28years. Items recovered from them include:  three cars, 30 mobile phones, three laptops and a wristwatch. The suspects will be charged to court upon conclusion of investigations. Media & Publicity July 31, 2025 Credit: EFCC Nigeria

The Imo State Division of Court of Appeal, has upheld the conviction and three-year sentence of Prince Laseberry Okafor Anyanwu, a former Commissioner of Transport in the Rochas Okorocha administration of Imo State, for N180, 000, 000 (One Hundred and Eighty Million Naira, only) fraud. Anyanwu was arraigned by the Enugu Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on November 26, 2020 before Justice E. F. Njemanze of the Imo State High Court on a four-count charge bordering on abuse of office and fraudulent diversion of N180, 000, 000 (One Hundred and Eighty Million Naira only). The…

The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has charged newly appointed Chief Executive Officers, Chairmen and Members of Governing Boards of Federal Parastatals, Agencies  and  Agencies to embrace transparency, accountability and good governance in the discharge of their duties. Olukoyede gave the charge in Abuja on Thursday, July 31, 2025, while delivering a paper titled, “The Role of the EFCC in Improving Accountability in Public Service” at the induction programme for the new appointees. He described public service as a call to serve for the common good rather than an avenue for personal…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC , Abuja Zonal Directorate, on Tuesday, July 29,  2025 has arraigned eight suspected internet fraudsters before Justice Anyalewa Onoja-Alapa of the Federal High Court Lafia, Nasarawa State.  They were arraigned on one-count separate charges bordering on obtaining by false pretences. The suspects are Timileyin Jude, Kelvin Godwin, Benedict Simon Udoh and Israel Ugwu. Others are Friday Onigbe, Ismaila Jemilu, Salifu Mustapha Achema and Paul Attah. Godwin’s count reads, “That you Kelvin Godwin sometime in the year 2025 at Karu, Abuja within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria fraudulently impersonated one…

Against the backdrop of  The Vanguard’s Editorial of Tuesday,  July 29, 2025 entitled: “EFCC’s SCUML Certification Conundrum” where some glaring inaccuracies and unverified issues are raised about the workings of the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering,  SCUML,   it is helpful that salient facts about the Unit are laid bare to the public. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,  EFCC,  is sensitive to the significance of SCUML’s responsibilities and services to the nation. To this effect,  the portal for online registration for  SCUML’s certificate is accessible, functional  and effective.  Available statistics indicate that the traffic of applications for the Unit’s…

The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ola Olukoyede has tasked the House of Representatives to join hands with the EFCC to make the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFund a model that works. He gave the charge on Tuesday, July 29, 2025 when Members of the House of Representatives Committee on Students Loans, Scholarships and Higher Education Financing, led by its Chairman, Honourable Ifeoluwa Ehindero came on a working visit to the Commission.  “It is important to make sure that this scheme succeeds, because we pass good laws but the implementation is always lacking. So, we need to strengthen these processes to make impact and to do…

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC, has restated its commitment to strengthening its partnership with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in the fight against corruption, cybercrime, illicit financial flows and all other organized crimes. The commitment was made in Abuja on Tuesday, July 29, 2025, when a delegation of the UNODC, led by its Country Representative, Mr. Cheick Ousman Toure, paid a courtesy visit to EFCC’s Executive Chairman, Ola Olukoyede at the corporate headquarters of the Commission. Toure emphasized UNODC’s new strategic approach to partnership with Nigeria, noting that the country has been a key player in implementing global…

The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ola Olukoyede has called for stronger collaboration from Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professionals, DNFBPs with the EFCC against money laundering and in tackling the vulnerability of major economic sectors of the country to the crime. He made the call at the one-day outreach for high risk Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professionals, DNFBPs, organized by the EFCC, at The Jagz Ibadan Hotel, with the theme: “Effective Implementation of AML/CFT/CPF Measures among DNFBP in Nigeria.” Represented by the Acting Director, Ibadan Zonal Directorate of the EFCC, ACE I Hauwa Garba Ringim, Olukoyede appreciated the collaborative efforts of DNFBPs and other stakeholders towards effective implementation of the Anti-Money Laundering/ Combating…

Justice A.A. Bello of the Kaduna State High Court sitting, in Kaduna State has convicted and jailed Stephen Ime Ibanga and Augustine Mmesoma Umunnabuike for fraud. They were prosecuted by the Kaduna Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on separate one-count charge, bordering on obtaining by false pretence, cheating and impersonation. Ibanga’s charge reads: “That you, Stephen Ime Ibanga (a.k.a James Armstrong) male, sometimes in March, 2025 at Kaduna within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, impersonated James Armstrong (a citizen of United States of America) on ‘Facebook’ (an online social media application) and benefitted the total sum of N744,968.00 (Seven Hundred and Forty-four Thousand Nine Hundred…

Operatives of the Uyo Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,  EFCC, have arrested eleven suspected illegal miners for engaging in mining activities without requisite licences.  They were arrested on Thursday July 24, 2025, at Emem-Asuk community, Eastern Obolo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. The suspects are seven Chinese identified as: Yang Chaobao, 32,  Zhong Dun Yi , 33, Cheng Jiang , 35, Zhong Dun Long , 37, Pan Peiming , 33, Lai Yiping,  37 and Zhu Lekun, 35. Their Nigerian accomplices are:  David Israel, 18,  Jonah Bartholomew Jim , 24, Samuel Samuel Timothy,  20, and…

Justice Haleema Saleeman of the Kwara State High Court, Ilorin has ordered the final forfeiture of two tractors and two auto rickshaws by Kayode Oyin-Zubair, a former Special Assistant on Community Intervention to ex-Kwara State governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed in favour of Self Reliance Economic Advancement Programme, SEAP in the state. In giving the ruling on Thursday, July 24, 2025, Justice Saleeman dismissed an application filed by Oyin-Zubair, seeking to set aside an earlier interim forfeiture order on the items and upheld the arguments of EFCC’s counsel, Mustapha Kaigama in favour of the applicant, Self Reliance Economic Advancement Programme, SEAP that the assets were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activity. The forfeited items are valued at N57.4 million. Oyin-Zubair, who served who served as assistant between 2020 and 2023 to…

The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ola Olukoyede has bagged the “Excellence in Humanity Service Award” of the African Peace Legend. The award presentation took place on Thursday, July 24, 2025 at the EFCC’s corporate headquarters, Jabi. Abuja.  The director of African Peace Legend, Jesse Seyi Amiri at the occasion, stated that his organization recognizes individuals who standout in promoting peace and development of Nigeria.  “Nine months ago, we did an open nomination across African countries for people to nominate those supporting peace and development and your Executive Chairman’s name came up and he made it to the…