The establishment of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission by an Act of the National Assembly on December 12, 2002 and subsequent amendment in 2004 remains Nigeria’s boldest and most significant step towards achieving a graft-free society.

However, notwithstanding this move, corruption continues to afflict the country like a malignant tumour requiring more than a simple surgical operation to stop its growth.

It should be noted that beside the fact that the creation of the Commission had been an expedient necessity for the nation, it was also partly in response to pressure from the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering, also more commonly known by its French name, Grouped’action financière, which had listed Nigeria as one of its Non- Cooperative Countries and Territories. In 2006, shortly after the operation of the Commission kicked off, FATF removed Nigeria from the list.

The coming of the EFCC was indeed a relieving breather. Corruption has been a major national headache since independence. In 2012, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, a former Education Minister and a former World Bank Vice President for Africa, reported that Nigeria had lost up to $400 billion of her revenue to corruption since 1960. This amount could have conveniently paid off the nation’s debt to the Paris Club (which was eventually paid off in October 2005) and provided needed infrastructure to accelerate the country’s progress towards industrialisation and self-sufficiency.

The EFCC began with a bang. Its pioneer Chairman, Mallam Nuru Ribadu, a senior police officer, moved swiftly against many hitherto invincible corruption kingpins who had been on a free rein on the scene. Many of them were arrested, tried and successfully convicted. Backed by the media and encouraged by the political will of the Olusegun Obasanjo administration, the EFCC made substantial progress against corruption and corrupt government officials and individuals.

Expectedly and most significantly, there have been criticisms against the Commission’s use of the media to try suspects even before they were arraigned in court. However, the media attention it created and enjoyed had a substantial positive effect on the country’s Corruption Perception Index.

In 2014, Transparency International, an international association set up to combat global corruption, ranked Nigeria 136, up from 144 in 2013. In 2020, the country’s ranking had climbed to 149, signalling that in spite of the tireless and relentless activities of the EFCC, the country needed a new approach in the fight against financial and economic crimes.

Over the years, the choice of an Executive Chairman to lead the anti-graft agency has attracted national attention because of its consequences. First, the choice signals the intention and determination of the political administration in power and secondly because the Executive Chairman is the arrowhead of the agency’s anti-corruption drive. It is in the light of this that Barrister Ola Olukayode’s appointment becomes most significant because of its consequence on the fight against corruption.

Barrister Ola Olukoyede’s appointment
Ola Olukoyede emerged the fifth Executive Chairman of the EFCC following his appointment by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on October 12, 2023. He became the first person from the southern part of Nigeria to serve as Executive Chairman of the Commission. Also of note is that he is the first Executive Chairman of the EFCC without a Police Background or without a cadet training from the Commission – AIG Mallam Nuhu Ribadu (retd – 2003-2007), AIG Farida Waziri (retd – 2008-2011), DIG Ibrahim Lamorde (retd – 2012-2015) and AIG Ibrahim Magu (retd – 2015-2012) served the Commission as serving police officers except AIG Farida who was already retired before her appointment. Olukoyede’s immediate predecessor, Abdulrasheed Bawa (2021-2023), was the first cadet-trained officer of the Commission to be appointed Executive Chairman.

Olukoyede is eminently qualified to lead the Commission. He has 22 years experience in law practice, compliance management, corporate intelligence and fraud management. Before joining the EFCC as Secretary of the Commission in 2018, he had worked as a lawyer at the law firm of former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN). He is an alumnus of the Lagos State University; University of Lagos; Institute of Arbitration ICC ,  Paris, France; and University of Harvard (Kennedy School of Executive Education) and a member of the Fraud Advisory Panel (UK). Olukoyede is also a pastor at the Redeemed Christian Church of God.

Sailing through the storm
Since assuming office, the Chairman has expectedly and unsurprisingly been in the eye of the storm. Anti-graft fight is always a difficult and delicate issue in any terrain. There is a burden of expectation that comes with occupying the position. He will be hated by the corrupt and treated with suspicion by many. The Chairman is always overburdened with a load of expectations. His first unspoken responsibility is to prove he is not an appendage of the Presidency. The political class, including members of the ruling party, expect to be treated with kid gloves. People expect him to be brutal in his approach by hounding suspects into detention without respect for the rule of law. These issues are typical with the position of the nation’s head of its anti-graft agency.

Raids of Yahoo Boys hideouts
Over the years, one of EFCC’s major focus in the anti-graft war is the menace of online scammers. It was therefore not surprising when the Commission raided some hotels in Akure, Ondo State and Lagos State accommodating suspected Ýahoo Boys in June 2024. Nigerians have a culture of hard work and integrity. There are however a small set of people who have entrenched themselves in online scams, popularly called Yahoo Yahoo. The phenomenon is so concerning that some Nigerians with shady characters have been arrested and are serving prison terms in foreign countries. Additionally, the average Nigerian traveller is wrongly profiled leading to embarrassing treatments in the hands of immigration officers and other law enforcement agents.

The increase in the number of these cases has been a source of worry to all Nigerians. The initial raids on the hideouts of the ‘boys’ were greeted with a lot of criticisms, some of these very well justified. Claims of operatives’ high handedness resulting in injuries to innocent citizens and damage to properties of hotel management have probably slowed down these raids. We expected in strategy rather a slow down of the onslaught against online criminals.

Putting religious leaders on the spot
On July 14, 2024, Olukoyede, an RCCG pastor himself, at a Redeemed Christian Church of God leadership conference in Lagos, revealed that his organisation recently recovered “many millions from a religious organisation”. Earlier in January 2024, the Commission claimed it uncovered a religious sect laundering money for terrorists in Nigeria. The Chairman has received media attacks for daring to call out religious leaders. Well meaning Nigerians must stand with the Commission if the country is determined to combat corruption. Graft is an evil which affects us all and any fight against the menace must be embraced by all.

Yahaya Bello’s case
This is the first high profile case and probably the toughest test Olukoyede will face as Chairman of the Commission. Incidentally, this is arguably the first time the Commission will be dealing with a former governor who has refused to honour its invitation. The issue has been dragged for months, weeks and days on end. On April 24, 2024, Olukoyede vowed to resign if he does not bring the former governor to book. After declaring him wanted and after several weeks of hide-and-seek between operatives of the Commission and Bello, the former governor claimed to have “visited” the EFCC head office in Abuja on September 18, 2024. In a counter claim, the Commission stated that the former governor remained a wanted person. The Commission will need to prove beyond doubt that it will not protect any sacred cow in the fight against corruption in the country.

Going forward, while the Chairman will need to up his efforts in the fight against corruption, he will also need the understanding and support of the media and all Nigerians. Corruption affects us in ways we cannot imagine. In spite of the prospect of economic prosperity that the nation can achieve, corruption will keep the nation down and hinder the reforms of the President Bola Tinubu administration.

Subsequently, we will be highlighting the place of media sensitisation and patriotism in our collective fight against corruption. It is of great importance that all Nigerians rally round the Chairman and the Commission so we can win the fight against corruption.