The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has recovered more than ₦1.23 trillion in 34 months under its Executive Chairman, Ola Olukoyede.
Olukoyede disclosed this on Monday, August 31, 2026, while presenting an account of his stewardship and the Commission’s activities between October 2023 and July 2026.
The recovery figure, which represents the highest recorded by the anti-graft agency in naira, stood at ₦1,233,612,040,411.11. The EFCC also recovered $684,478,457.32, £373,905.78 and €9,343,803.66 within the period.
Olukoyede said about ₦397.26 billion, representing 33 per cent of the naira recovery, was recovered directly for the Federal Government.
The remaining ₦836.34 billion, representing 67 per cent, was recovered on behalf of ministries, departments and agencies, state revenue services, companies, individuals and foreign victims.
He said the figures showed that “two out of every three naira recovered, were on behalf of beneficiaries other than the federal government.”
The EFCC boss also linked the recovery drive to a broader prosecution record, revealing that the Commission received 49,673 petitions, investigated 39,615 cases, filed 14,476 cases in court and secured 10,872 convictions during the period.
According to him, the figures translated to a 75.1 per cent conviction-to-filing ratio, while 1,370 convictions were recorded from 1,889 filings in the first half of 2026 alone.
“These results reflect diligence, resilience and a prosecutorial approach anchored on evidence and courtroom outcomes,” he said.
Beyond court convictions, the Commission released ₦661.32 billion and $492.37 million to beneficiaries during the period, with the naira component including ₦325.35 billion paid directly to individuals and corporate bodies.
Another ₦335.97 billion was released to various government ministries, departments and agencies, the Nigerian Revenue Service, state internal revenue services, public institutions, companies and individuals.
Olukoyede said the agency’s activities also generated substantial fiscal recoveries, with federal and state tax recoveries reaching about ₦288.1 billion.
Of the amount, approximately ₦173.2 billion came from federal tax recoveries, while ₦114.9 billion was attributed to state internal revenue services.
The Commission also recorded about ₦257.2 billion in naira recoveries for federal ministries, departments and agencies.
Olukoyede said the impact of asset recovery was not limited to money returned to government coffers, citing the allocation of ₦50 billion each to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund and the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation from proceeds of crime in 2024, with another ₦50 billion each allocated to both bodies in 2026.
He also disclosed that the former NOK University, which was forfeited to the Federal Government, had been converted into the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, Kaduna State.
A total of 1,909 students matriculated into the university in December 2025, while another high-value private university has also been forfeited to the Federal Government.
“When recovered criminal value helps finance education and household credit, enforcement moves beyond punishment to restoration and productive national use,” Olukoyede said.
The EFCC further secured forfeiture orders covering 10,053 tangible assets between October 2023 and July 2026.
The assets comprised 8,198 electronic items, 1,177 real estate assets, 370 automobiles and 251 plots of land, alongside schools, factories, hotels, shops, oil rigs, barges, machinery and aircraft.
The Commission also secured the forfeiture of 102 tonnes of solid minerals, while proceeds from the disposal of assets under final forfeiture orders amounted to about ₦12.07 billion and were paid to the Federal Government.
On financial crime trends, Olukoyede said the Commission’s data from 2024 to 2026 year-to-date showed 46,288 offences across nine major categories, with advance fee fraud and cybercrime accounting for nearly two-thirds of recorded offences.
He said recorded offences increased by 24.1 per cent between 2024 and 2025, with procurement fraud, bank fraud, cybercrime and economic-governance offences recording notable rises.
“This tells us that the fight against economic and financial crime is not only about grand corruption. Every day, we are protecting citizens, businesses and institutions from fraud, cyber-enabled crime and other forms of economic exploitation,” he said.
The Commission’s specialised enforcement portfolio also recorded 920 cases involving money laundering, unlicensed bureaux de change, illegal mining, virtual assets and terrorist financing, leading to 212 convictions.
Olukoyede said money laundering and unlicensed bureau de change cases constituted the largest share, while the EFCC was also responding to risks associated with virtual assets and illicit financial flows from the extractive sector.
In the foreign-exchange market, the Commission recorded 234 bureaux de change cases and 73 convictions within the period.
“The overarching objective is to support a more formal, transparent and compliant retail foreign-exchange market and close channels vulnerable to illicit finance, speculation and round tripping,” he said.
Olukoyede also attributed part of the Commission’s performance to reforms introduced during his tenure, including new guidelines on arrest and bail, a review of sting operations and the creation of the Department of Fraud Risk Assessment and Control, Security Department, Immigration and Visa Section and Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre.
The Enugu and Ilorin directorates were commissioned during the period, while new directorates were established in Ekiti, Anambra and Katsina states to improve access to the Commission.
He said policies on gifts and hospitality, conflict of interest and exhibit-room security had also been introduced, while the Internal Affairs Department was renamed and restructured as the Ethics and Integrity Department.
On digital operations, Olukoyede said almost 60 per cent of the Commission’s processes had been digitalised.
“At the moment, almost 60 percent of our processes and operations have been digitalized,” he said, pointing to continued investment in digitisation, the new Academy, the EFCC 24/7 Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre and EFCC Radio.
The EFCC chairman also linked the agency’s enforcement activities to Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force Grey List in October 2025, describing the development as a national achievement.
He said the Commission’s work in money laundering, terrorist financing, asset freezing, confiscation and virtual assets had contributed to the wider national effort to strengthen Nigeria’s anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism framework.
Reflecting on his 34-month tenure, Olukoyede described the period as one marked by sustained enforcement, prosecution, asset recovery, restitution, institutional reform and stronger domestic and international collaboration.