The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission says it recovered more than N1.23tn in cash between October 2023 and July 2026 under the leadership of its Chairman, Ola Olukoyede.
Olukoyede disclosed this on Monday while presenting his stewardship report, saying the figure represented the highest monetary recovery recorded by the commission.
According to him, the EFCC recovered N1,233,612,040,411.11 during the period, alongside $684.48m, €9.34m and £373,905.78.
He said about N397.26bn, representing 33 per cent of the naira recovery, was recovered directly for the Federal Government, while N836.34bn was recovered on behalf of ministries, departments and agencies, state revenue services, companies, individuals and foreign victims.
“Two out of every three naira recovered were on behalf of beneficiaries other than the Federal Government,” Olukoyede said.
The EFCC chairman also disclosed that the commission received 49,673 petitions, investigated 39,615 cases, filed 14,476 cases in court and secured 10,872 convictions within the period.
He put the commission’s conviction-to-filing ratio at 75.1 per cent, adding that 1,370 convictions were secured from 1,889 cases filed in the first half of 2026 alone.
On asset recovery, Olukoyede said the commission secured the forfeiture of 10,053 tangible assets through interim and final court orders between October 2023 and July 2026.
The assets included 8,198 electronic devices, 1,177 properties, 370 vehicles and 251 plots of land, as well as schools, factories, hotels, shops, oil rigs, barges, machinery and aircraft.
He added that 102 tonnes of solid minerals were also forfeited, while proceeds from the disposal of assets under final forfeiture orders amounted to approximately N12.07bn, which was paid to the Federal Government.
The EFCC boss said N661.32bn and $492.37m recovered by the commission were released to beneficiaries during the period.
He explained that the naira disbursements included N325.35bn paid directly to individuals and corporate bodies, while N335.97bn went to MDAs, the Nigerian Revenue Service, state internal revenue services and other beneficiaries.
Olukoyede further disclosed that enforcement activities generated about N288.1bn in federal and state tax recoveries, comprising N173.2bn for the Federal Government and N114.9bn for state revenue services.
He said another N257.2bn in recoveries was recorded for federal ministries, departments and agencies.
According to him, recovered funds have also supported government programmes, including the Nigerian Education Loan Fund and the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation.
He recalled that the Federal Government directed the allocation of N50bn each to NELFUND and the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation from EFCC recoveries in 2024, with another N50bn each allocated to the two institutions in 2026.
The former NOK University, which was forfeited to the Federal Government, was also converted into the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, Kaduna State. Olukoyede said 1,909 students were matriculated into the institution in December 2025.
On financial crimes, the EFCC chairman said the commission recorded 46,288 offences between 2024 and 2026 year-to-date across nine major categories, with advance-fee fraud and cybercrime accounting for almost two-thirds.
He said recorded offences increased by 24.1 per cent between 2024 and 2025, particularly in procurement fraud, bank fraud, cybercrime and economic-governance offences.
The commission also handled 920 specialised cases involving money laundering, unlicensed bureaux de change, illegal mining, virtual assets and terrorist financing, securing 212 convictions.
Olukoyede said the EFCC recorded 234 bureaux de change cases and 73 convictions within the last three years, describing the enforcement as part of efforts to support a more transparent foreign-exchange market.
He also attributed Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force grey list in October 2025 partly to the commission’s enforcement activities in money laundering, terrorist financing, asset freezing and confiscation.
On institutional reforms, the EFCC chairman said the commission had introduced new arrest and bail guidelines, reviewed its sting operations and created departments and units including Fraud Risk Assessment and Control, Security, Immigration and Visa, and the Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre.
He said new directorates had been established in Ekiti, Anambra and Katsina, while the Enugu and Ilorin directorates were commissioned during the period.
Olukoyede added that about 60 per cent of the commission’s processes and operations had been digitised, alongside the development of a new academy, the EFCC 24/7 Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre and EFCC Radio.
