EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede has pledged that no recovered assets will be mismanaged during his tenure, while arguing against the creation of a single agency to handle forfeited assets recovered by government bodies.
In a statement posted on his X account on Tuesday, Olukoyede said his stance draws from years of practical experience managing recovered assets during his earlier role as the commission’s secretary. He entered the debate over how Nigeria should handle forfeited and recovered assets, rejecting calls for a centralised management body.
Olukoyede pointed to international examples that failed. He said an effort in the United Kingdom to establish a central agency for recovered assets cost more than £34 million and was abandoned within a year. A comparable arrangement in South Africa lasted only 16 months, according to him.
He argued that Nigeria’s situation makes centralisation unworkable. More than 20 statutory agencies recover assets on behalf of the government. The Nigeria Police Force alone maintains divisions in nearly every local government area and stations in most wards, making it impractical for one body to manage assets seized across all institutions.
Olukoyede also referenced the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), claiming the government lost more than N5 trillion under that model. He maintained that the Proceeds of Crime Act provides a stronger framework by requiring each agency to account for assets recovered under its own mandate. Combined with Section 31 of the EFCC Act, this approach, he said, offers an effective system of accountability.
He challenged other government agencies to account for assets recovered under their respective mandates. The EFCC, he noted, publishes details of its recovered assets on its website within 24 hours and has submitted its annual report to the National Assembly on schedule throughout his tenure.
Olukoyede closed with a direct pledge: “Not a pin nor a penny of recovered assets will be mismanaged under my watch.”
In related figures, the EFCC secured 3,175 convictions and recovered N156 billion over the past year.
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