The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, says more than 40 staff members have been dismissed for corruption and financial malpractice over the past three years.
Olukoyede disclosed this on Monday in Abuja during a media interactive session to mark his three-year stewardship at the commission’s headquarters.
The EFCC chairman also said about five members of staff are currently facing prosecution for alleged corrupt practices, while case files involving others are being prepared for prosecution.
“In the past two and a half to three years of my service, I have asked them to dismiss over 40 staff on account of corruption and financial malpractice. More than five of them are being prosecuted at the moment,” he said.
Olukoyede said some of the affected officers were already in court, stressing that EFCC personnel must be subjected to the same accountability standards the agency applies to other Nigerians.
“You can follow those cases in court; they are public knowledge,” he said.
He added: “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?”
According to the EFCC chairman, the disciplinary measures are part of efforts to ensure that the commission’s personnel maintain high ethical standards.
“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.
Olukoyede also announced the renaming of the commission’s former Internal Affairs Department to the Department of Ethics and Integrity as part of what he described as an effort towards “internal cleansing.”
He said the EFCC had also introduced a gift policy aimed at improving transparency and preventing conflicts of interest. Under the policy, staff will be required to declare gifts above a specified value, including gifts received from friends and relatives within and outside Nigeria.
“The commission will also define the categories of gifts personnel can accept and require officers to account for their sources of income and standard of living,” he added.
Olukoyede called for stronger institutional reforms and policy changes to tackle corruption, arguing that law enforcement alone cannot win the fight against financial crimes.
“The most effective system that fights financial crime is not law enforcement. It is the policy regime, institutional reforms that close leakages,” he said.
He also urged the media and civil society organisations to strengthen their watchdog roles.
Source: NAN
