Mr. Ola Olukoyede, the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has blamed parental neglect and failures on the rise in financial crime among Nigerian youngsters.
Speaking at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College in Kaduna on Friday, September 19, 2025, Olukoyede, who was accompanied by Assistant Commander of the EFCC (ACE I), the Acting Director of the Kaduna Zonal Directorate, cautioned that family neglect has serious repercussions and exposes youth to financial and economic crimes.
He pointed out that poverty, ignorance, a lack of responsibility, and substance misuse are frequently the causes of neglect, which shows itself as families’ inability to give their kids the material, emotional, and psychological assistance they need.
“The nexus between family dysfunction and youth criminality calls for a multi-dimensional approach, both in diagnosing the negative outcomes and in administering the required remedies,” he said.
He further emphasised that youth development programs like athletics, mentorship, and family support networks could assist direct young people’s energies towards more fruitful endeavours.
Olukoyede voiced worry that some college students who are detained for online fraud frequently use lack of family support and financial difficulties as excuses for their participation in cybercrime.
The EFCC boss applauded the FG, describing the Federal Government’s intervention through the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFund), which was established with N50 billion recovered proceeds of crime by the EFCC, as a timely step to ease financial strains on students and discourage them from engaging in illegal activities.
Additionally, He cited the Integrity Club for elementary and secondary schools, the Zero Tolerance Club for higher education institutions, the EFCC/NYSC CDS Group for corps members, and the Commission’s National Cybercrime Summit as examples of EFCC’s preventive and reorientation programs aimed at protecting youth from financial and economic crimes.
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