The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has dismissed more than 40 of its personnel for alleged corruption and financial malpractice since Ola Olukoyede assumed office as chairman, with more than five of the affected officers now facing prosecution.
Olukoyede disclosed this on Monday, August 31, 2026, during a media briefing at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja, held to mark approximately three years of his administration of the commission.
The EFCC chairman said the disciplinary measures were part of efforts to ensure that the commission’s fight against corruption also extends to its own personnel, insisting that officers who investigate financial crimes must be held to the same standards they enforce on members of the public.
“In the past two and a half years or three years of my service, I’ve asked them to dismiss over 40 staff on account of corruption and financial malpractice. More than five of them are being prosecuted at the moment,” Olukoyede said.
He explained that dismissal alone would not be sufficient where an officer had allegedly committed an offence that warranted criminal prosecution.
According to him, EFCC personnel should not be shielded from the criminal justice process simply because they work for the agency responsible for investigating and prosecuting financial crimes.
“Because if that is what people do in other agencies and I arrest them, I investigate them, I prosecute them, why must I just dismiss you if you do it within our own system and I’m not prosecuting you?” he asked.
Olukoyede said some of the affected personnel had already been taken to court, while case files involving others were being prepared for prosecution.
He also encouraged Nigerians interested in the proceedings to monitor the cases, stressing that those already before the courts are public matters.
“You can follow those cases in court; they are public knowledge,” he said.
The EFCC chairman said the internal disciplinary action formed part of a broader institutional reform aimed at strengthening accountability and rebuilding confidence in the commission.
As part of the reforms, he disclosed that the former Department of Internal Affairs had been renamed the Department of Ethics and Integrity, reflecting what he described as a stronger focus on ethical conduct within the agency.
Olukoyede described the exercise as part of the commission’s internal cleansing, stressing that personnel responsible for investigating corruption could not afford to engage in the same practices they were mandated to fight.
“You must be sure that your hands are clean. You can’t be fighting corruption when your hands are soiled with corrupt practices,” he said.
The commission has also introduced a gift policy for its personnel as another measure to strengthen transparency and guard against conflicts of interest.
Under the policy, officers will be expected to declare gifts and assets above a prescribed threshold, including gifts received from relatives abroad. The EFCC is also expected to establish clear categories of gifts that its personnel may legitimately accept.
Olukoyede said the measures were intended to make it possible for officers to account for their sources of livelihood and standards of living, particularly given the sensitive nature of their duties.
The internal disciplinary measures come as the EFCC records a significant volume of enforcement activity under Olukoyede. Figures presented around the same three-year period showed that the commission had received 49,673 petitions, investigated 39,615 and filed 14,476 cases in court, resulting in 10,872 convictions.
The commission also reported recoveries exceeding N1.23 trillion and $684 million during the period.
The EFCC chairman’s disclosure effectively places internal integrity at the centre of the commission’s anti-corruption strategy, with the agency seeking to demonstrate that its personnel are not exempt from the accountability expected of those it investigates.
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