EFCC Recovers Over 500 Million Dollars in Cash, Assets in Three Years
Written by Damilola Oladoke on August 27, 2026
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (c) has secured the forfeiture of more than 500 million dollars in cash and assets to the Federal Government over the past three years, Chairman Ola Olukoyede has said.
Speaking at the Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime in the United Kingdom, Olukoyede attributed the recoveries to Nigeria’s non-conviction-based forfeiture laws, which allow the agency to seize suspected proceeds of crime without waiting for a criminal conviction similar to frameworks in Australia and Canada.
Notable forfeitures under his leadership include an aircraft linked to a power project monitoring committee member alleged to have taken a 30 million dollars bribe (now added to the presidential fleet); a property with about 753 housing units tied to a former Central Bank of Nigeria governor; 48 of 57 properties connected to former Attorney-General Abubakar Malami; and a private university voluntarily surrendered by a Federal Ministry of Health director.
Olukoyede credited skilled investigators, judicial cooperation and credible intelligence for the successes, while urging stronger whistleblower protections and incentives of 2.5–5 percent of recovered assets for those who help reclaim stolen Nigerian funds abroad.
