EFCC DISMISSES OVER 40 STAFF FOR CORRUPTION, FINANCIAL MALPRACTICE - OLUKOYEDE

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By Aishat Momoh. O.

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has disclosed that more than 40 personnel of the commission have been dismissed for corruption and financial malpractice since he assumed office.

Olukoyede made the disclosure on Monday during a briefing on the activities and reforms of the commission under his leadership at its headquarters in Abuja.

According to him, more than five of the dismissed personnel are currently being prosecuted, while case files involving other affected officers are being prepared for prosecution.

“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.

The EFCC chairman stressed that the commission would not protect its personnel from prosecution when they engage in the same corrupt practices for which members of the public are investigated and prosecuted.

He questioned why officers found guilty of corruption within the commission should merely be dismissed when the EFCC routinely investigates and prosecutes similar offences committed by people outside the agency.

“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 officers were already facing trial, while the commission was working on case files against others.

“You can follow those cases in court; they are public knowledge,” he added.

As part of efforts to strengthen internal accountability, the EFCC chairman disclosed that the commission had renamed its former Department of Internal Affairs as the Department of Ethics and Integrity.

He said the change was intended to reinforce the commission’s commitment to what he described as “internal cleansing”.

Olukoyede also revealed that the commission had introduced a gift policy for its personnel as part of measures to promote transparency and accountability.

Under the policy, EFCC officers would be required to declare gifts and assets above a specified threshold, including gifts received from relatives abroad.

He said the commission would also establish categories of gifts that personnel would be permitted to accept.

According to him, the measures are designed to ensure that officers can account for their means of livelihood and standard of living.

“You must be sure that your hands are clean. You can’t be fighting corruption when your hands are soiled with corrupt practices,” Olukoyede said.