The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has called on the National Assembly to urgently criminalise unexplained wealth, warning that Nigeria cannot win the war against corruption without a legal framework to question assets far beyond an individual’s legitimate income.
Speaking at the National Conference on Public Accounts and Fiscal Governance in Abuja on Wednesday, Olukoyede urged lawmakers to reintroduce and pass the Unexplained Wealth Bill, which he said was previously rejected by the last Assembly.
“Help me pass the Unexplained Wealth Bill. I’ve been begging for the past year. This same bill was thrown out in the last Assembly. If we don’t make individuals accountable for what they have, we’ll never get it right,” he said.
He cited examples where civil servants, after decades in the public sector, own multiple luxury properties without any verifiable legal income to support such acquisitions. “Someone has worked in a ministry for 20 years. We calculate their entire salary and allowances. Then we find five properties — two in Maitama, three in Asokoro. Yet we’re told to go and prove a predicate offence before we can act. That is absurd,” he added.
Olukoyede warned that the absence of such a law continues to embolden corrupt individuals who exploit loopholes in the justice system. He said the EFCC is forced to delay investigations because current laws require proof of a predicate offence before assets can be seized.
“Once you are living beyond your means, you should be held to account. Until we do this, there will always be an escape route for the corrupt,” he declared.
He revealed that the EFCC recently began a full-scale probe into the oil and gas sector, and what has already emerged, he said, is shocking. “In the last three weeks, we started a commission-wide investigation into the extractive industry, particularly the oil and gas sector. What we have discovered is mind-boggling. We have only just opened the books. So much more corruption is to be unravelled. If this is what we’re seeing at the surface, imagine what lies beneath,” he warned.
Olukoyede linked the misuse of public funds to worsening insecurity in the country, pointing out that corruption plays a direct role in fueling crime and violence.
“There is a very strong connection between the mismanagement of our resources and insecurity. When you look at banditry, kidnapping, terrorism, trace it back, and you will find a pattern of corrupt practices and diversion of funds that were meant to improve people’s lives,” he said.
He also disclosed that Nigeria’s looted assets are scattered around the globe, sometimes in the most unlikely places. “Last month alone, I visited four or five countries chasing Nigeria’s stolen assets. An ambassador even told me they discovered an estate in Iceland owned by a Nigerian. Iceland of all places!” he said.
Despite the Commission’s efforts, Olukoyede admitted that full recovery of Nigeria’s stolen wealth is almost impossible. “There is no amount of capacity I can build, no level of effort I can put in, that will enable me to recover even half of what has been stolen from Nigeria because the custodians of those assets in foreign countries don’t want to let go. And they won’t,” he lamented.
He also expressed frustration over what he described as a culture of impunity within Nigeria’s public service, where indicted individuals continue to enjoy public support and political celebration.
“We are doing this work. We see people who have stolen our money. We have shown you evidence. We’ve traced where the money went. We are already in court. Yet, they’re being celebrated all over the place. Does that show we’re serious?” he asked.
Highlighting the economic potential of sound fiscal governance, Olukoyede said, “If we execute even 60% of our capital budget efficiently between 2025 and 2026, we will empower small and medium-scale industries. We’ll build infrastructure. We’ll be fine.”
He concluded by reaffirming the EFCC’s commitment to transparency and accountability, stressing that legislative support is critical in closing the legal gaps that allow corruption to thrive.
