Nigeria’s anti-graft agency has dismissed more than 40 of its own employees for alleged corruption and financial misconduct over the past three years, its chairman has disclosed.
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) chairman Ola Olukoyede made the announcement on Monday while assessing the agency’s achievements since he took office in October 2023.
Speaking to journalists in the capital, Abuja, he said more than five of the dismissed officials were already facing prosecution, while case files were being prepared against the others.
“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,” Olukoyede said.
The EFCC investigates financial crimes including fraud, money laundering and corruption. It regularly pursues cases against politicians, public officials, business figures and others accused of misusing public funds. As part of internal reforms under Olukoyede’s leadership, the agency’s Department of Internal Affairs was renamed the Department of Ethics and Integrity. A new policy on gifts and hospitality was also introduced. It requires officers to declare gifts above a certain threshold, which he did not specify, including those received from relatives abroad.
“You must be sure that your hands are clean. You can’t be fighting corruption when your hands are soiled with corrupt practices,” he added.
The BBC asked the EFCC for more details about the alleged corruption involving its former staff members, but the agency said this information was not available. Officials instead pointed to other results from the past three years. Olukoyede, 56, said the commission had recovered 1.23 trillion naira (about $925 million or £683 million) and achieved a conviction rate of more than 75 percent.
Between October 2023 and July 2026, the EFCC received 49,673 petitions, investigated 39,615 cases, filed 14,476 cases in court and secured 10,872 convictions. In the first half of 2026 alone, it recorded 1,370 convictions from 1,889 filings.
“These results reflect diligence, resilience and a prosecutorial approach anchored on evidence and courtroom outcomes,” he said.
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