The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said it recovered N1 trillion from prominent public figures and Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) in 2024.
According to a recent report released by the EFCC and reviewed by President Bola Tinubu, the recovered N1 trillion includes cash, assets, and forfeitures.
This figure represents the largest annual recovery of proceeds of crime by the anti-graft agency since its establishment in 2003.
To contextualize the magnitude of this recovery, the amount surpasses the total 2024 budgets of Yobe (N217 billion), Gombe (N207.75 billion), Ebonyi (N202.13 billion), Nasarawa (N199.88 billion) and Ekiti (N159.57 billion) states combined.
Furthermore, at the prevailing minimum wage of N70,000 per month, the recovered sum could comfortably sustain the salaries of approximately 1.2 million Nigerian civil servants for a full year. Alternatively, it could provide relief to about 25 million Nigerian households through subsidised rice distribution.
The latest Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) indicates a slight improvement for Nigeria, moving from a score of 25 in 2023 to 26 in 2024, improving its global ranking from 145th to 140th among 180 countries.
However, this marginal increase does little to obscure the fact that corruption remains deeply entrenched, undermining the effectiveness of government initiatives aimed at alleviating widespread economic hardship.
EFCC Chairman Olanipekun Olukoyede revealed he rejected monetary gifts totaling N500 million from government officials during his mother’s burial in 2019.
In 2024 alone, the Commission secured 4,111 convictions from 5,083 cases prosecuted—another historic high since EFCC’s inception in 2003. Most cases involved Advance Fee Fraud, money laundering, and cybercrimes, which EFCC attributes to economic challenges such as high unemployment, poverty and inadequate regulatory frameworks, combined with increasingly sophisticated techniques adopted by fraudsters.
The report further revealed substantial monetary and asset forfeitures, including over N364 billion, $214 million, significant holdings in treasury bills, 975 properties, and large sums in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
These recoveries showed the vast scale of looting perpetuated by high-profile individuals and the need to strengthen anti-corruption measures.
“We must ensure these funds are transparently managed and swiftly deployed to benefit Nigerians directly,” he stated, highlighting initiatives such as the allocation of N50 billion from recovered funds to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), aimed at assisting underprivileged students nationwide.
Stakeholders and anti-corruption advocates, including AFRICMIL and notable lawyer Femi Falana, have called for more transparent management of recovered assets and the swift passage of laws such as the whistleblower protection bill.
Falana said it is important to hold those obstructing anti-corruption efforts accountable.
He argued that “Protecting someone who has stolen public money is not freedom of expression; it’s freedom to support corruption.”
While the EFCC’s historic recovery signals significant progress, it equally reveals how deep-seated corruption remains entrenched in Nigeria’s governance structures.
The Commission’s record recovery, impressive as it is, highlights both the depth of Nigeria’s corruption challenge and the formidable effort required to achieve meaningful and sustained reform.
