Tinubu praises EFCC as agency reports more than 10,000 convictions

President Bola Tinubu has praised the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for its work against corruption and financial crime, saying its convictions and recoveries justified the confidence placed in the agency. The President spoke on Friday in Awka, Anambra State, at the commissioning of a new EFCC Zonal Directorate. He was represented at the event by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas.

According to a statement from the commission, Tinubu said the agency’s record supported his administration’s objectives of economic reform, accountability and good governance. He cited convictions and the recovery of assets and properties as evidence of its performance. EFCC Executive Chairman Ola Olukoyede said the new directorate would combine enforcement with prevention.

He said it would work with government institutions, businesses, financial organisations, professional bodies, schools, markets, civil society groups and communities. Olukoyede said the commission received 49,673 petitions, investigated 39,615 cases, filed 14,476 cases in court and secured 10,872 convictions between October 2023 and July 2026. He put the conviction-to-filing ratio at 75.1 per cent.

He said the agency recorded 1,370 convictions from 1,889 filings during the first half of 2026. Recoveries included more than N1.23tn, $684.47m, £373,905.78 and €9.34m, he said. Olukoyede also listed operational reforms, including revised arrest and bail guidelines, a fraud risk assessment department and a cybercrime rapid response centre.