The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has disclosed that over 40 officers of the commission were sacked for corruption and financial malpractices since he assumed office.
Olukoyede made the disclosure on Monday, during a briefing at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja, where he highlighted the activities and reforms of the commission under his leadership.
According to him, more than five of the dismissed officers are currently facing prosecution, while case files involving others are being prepared for prosecution.
The EFCC chairman said the commission would not shield its personnel from prosecution if they were found to have engaged in corrupt practices.
He questioned why EFCC officers who commit the same offences the commission investigates among members of the public should only be dismissed without facing prosecution.
“Because if that is what people do in other agencies and I arrest them, I investigate them, I prosecute them, why must I just dismiss you if you do it within our own system and I’m not prosecuting you?” he asked.
Olukoyede said some of the affected personnel were already facing trial, while the commission was preparing case files against others.
“You can follow those cases in court; they are public knowledge,” he added.
The EFCC chairman also disclosed that the commission has renamed its former Department of Internal Affairs as the Department of Ethics and Integrity.
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He said the move was part of efforts to strengthen internal accountability and promote what he described as “internal cleansing” within the commission.
Olukoyede further revealed that the EFCC has developed a gift policy for its personnel as part of measures to improve transparency and accountability.
Under the proposed policy, EFCC officers would be required to declare assets above a specified threshold, including gifts received from relatives abroad.
The commission would also determine the categories of gifts its personnel could accept, according to the chairman.
Olukoyede said the measures were intended to ensure that EFCC officers could account for their means of livelihood and standard of living.
“You must be sure that your hands are clean. You can’t be fighting corruption when your hands are soiled with corrupt practices,” he said.
