July 20, (THEWILL) — Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, has revealed that the anti-graft agency is currently investigating 18 serving governors across the country.
Olukoyede made this known on Friday during a sensitisation programme in Lagos aimed at tackling the abuse and mutilation of the naira.
The event brought together stakeholders including film producers and bureau de change operators.
Responding to a question from the audience, the EFCC boss stated that contrary to popular belief, the Commission does not always wait for governors to complete their tenures before launching investigations into their activities.
“As I’m talking to you, we are investigating 18 governors who are still serving. When they leave office, we will go to the next level,” he said.
Recounting one case, Olukoyede said a former governor under EFCC probe fled Nigeria a day after leaving office and travelled to the United Kingdom, where he hosted a birthday party and began spraying large amounts of British pounds—an act that drew suspicion from the hotel manager.
“The manager, who had never seen anything like that, thought he was mentally unstable and called 911. The Metropolitan Police came, arrested the ex-governor, and were about to put him in an ambulance when some of his friends, including two other Nigerian governors, intervened,” Olukoyede said.
He added that the former governor, who had been investigated while in office, was eventually prosecuted and jailed, but later received a pardon.
“Even in the UK, they don’t tolerate the abuse of their currency. Spraying or stamping currency is considered unacceptable,” he said.
On the issue of naira abuse, the EFCC boss stressed that the naira represents more than just a medium of exchange—it symbolises national identity and sovereignty.
“People say spraying money is part of our culture. Assuming that’s true, culture must evolve. There’s nothing cultural about abusing the naira. The EFCC is mandated to enforce laws against naira abuse, and we won’t back down,” he stated.
Highlighting the difficulties in prosecuting politically exposed persons, Olukoyede lamented the long delays caused by legal technicalities and influence from powerful quarters.
“Over 65 per cent of the cases we filed last year involved civil servants and politically exposed persons. We had a case where it took 11 years—from the Federal High Court to the Supreme Court—just to get a ruling that a former governor had a case to answer,” he said.
Olukoyede said the EFCC receives pressure from powerful individuals and sometimes has to relocate officers due to security concerns.
To strengthen preventive measures, he said a fraud risk assessment unit was established and has already stopped over N10 billion from being stolen in the past year.
The EFCC has also launched an anti-corruption radio station, 97.3 FM, to promote public awareness and curb financial crimes.
On asset recovery, Olukoyede said the EFCC reclaimed a private university in Kaduna—built by a former civil service director who allegedly diverted N12 billion—which has now been renamed the University of Applied Sciences, Kashia.
He also disclosed that 168 out of 194 foreigners arrested in Lagos for operating illegal cryptocurrency businesses have been convicted.
“We are ready to clean up our economic sector and make it attractive to foreign investors. Yahoo Yahoo and similar crimes have damaged our global reputation. At one time, Nigerians could travel to 12 developed countries without visas. Today, Ghanaian and Cameroonian passports are more respected than ours,” he said.
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