The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) has urged the National Assembly to enact a legislation that criminalizes unexplained wealth and fortune in the country.
According to the panel, the nation effectively fought corruption without having the legal support to hold public officials responsible for assets that were much beyond their actual income.
Speaking at the National Conference on Public Accounts and Fiscal Governance, which was hosted by the Senate and House of Representatives Public Accounts Committees in Abuja, on Wednesday, Ola Olukoyede, the Commission’s chairman, made the demand.
Additionally, he disclosed that the EFCC had only recently started looking through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s books, and what they had seen thus far is hard to believe.
“Help me pass the Unexplained Wealth Bill. I’ve been begging for the past year. This same bill was thrown out in the last Assembly. If we don’t make individuals accountable for what they have, we’ll never get it right.
“Someone has worked in a ministry for 20 years. We calculate their entire salary and allowances. Then we find five properties — two in Maitama, three in Asokoro. Yet we’re told to go and prove a predicate offence before we can act. That is absurd.
“In the last three weeks, we started a commission-wide investigation into the extractive industry, particularly the oil and gas sector. What we have discovered is mind-boggling. We have only just opened the books. So much more corruption is to be unravelled. If this is what we’re seeing at the surface, imagine what lies beneath,” he said.
“There is a very strong connection between the mismanagement of our resources and insecurity. When you look at banditry, kidnapping, terrorism, trace it back, and you will find a pattern of corrupt practices and diversion of funds that were meant to improve people’s lives,” he said.
According to the EFCC chief, fiscal irresponsibility and abuse of public resources are the main causes of Nigeria’s economic problems and security issues, and the discovery highlights how deeply ingrained financial mismanagement is across the system.
He stated that the proposed law would make it a strict liability violation for anyone to have assets that are significantly more than their known and legitimate sources of income.
Olukoyede disclosed a troubling global awareness of Nigeria’s embezzled riches, pointing out that the EFCC is actively monitoring illegal assets in a number of jurisdictions, from America and Turkey to the most unlikely places like Iceland.
“Last month alone, I visited four or five countries chasing Nigeria’s stolen assets. An ambassador even told me they discovered an estate in Iceland owned by a Nigerian. Iceland of all places!” he said.
“We are doing this work. We see people who have stolen our money. We have shown you evidence. We’ve traced where the money went. We are already in court. Yet, they’re being celebrated all over the place. Does that show we’re serious?
“If we execute even 60% of our capital budget efficiently between 2025 and 2026, we will empower small and medium-scale industries. We’ll build infrastructure. We’ll be fine,” he said.
He also criticised the pervasive culture of impunity in Nigeria’s public sector, which frequently celebrates people who are already facing charges and allows finance law violations to go unpunished.
The EFCC boss stressed that Nigeria has no business borrowing to survive, given the abundant natural and mineral resources in the land.
“What we need is transparency in revenue generation and accountability in public expenditure,” he said and called on leaders to join hands to address the scourge of corruption, particularly in the public sector.
“If we miss it under this administration, I pity Nigeria. Let’s put politics aside. Let’s put ethnicity aside. This is about rescuing the soul of Nigeria,” he said.
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