Anambra, Imo EFCC Regional Office not to hound but help states’ finances – Olukoyede

The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, has stated that the establishment of a regional office of the commission in Awka, to serve Anambra and Imo States was not to hound its people but to help them in several ways to safeguard their funds.

Olukoyede stated this on Friday during the official commissioning of the office in Awka, while addressing the governors of Anambra and Imo States, Prof Chukwuma Soludo and Senator Hope Uzodinma, respectively, and other dignitaries who attended.

The Chairman of the commission, Olukoyede in his address said: “The establishment of this Directorate is integral to the Commission’s ongoing expansion, made possible by the generous appropriations of the National Assembly and the critical interventions of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“There is no doubt that Anambra and Imo States deserve effective and responsive institutional presence. These states are renowned for enterprise, innovation, commerce and an extraordinary culture of industry. Across both states, we see Nigerians creating businesses, building industries, trading, investing and generating employment. 

“These legitimate economic activities must be protected from fraud, cybercrime, money laundering, investment frauds, diversion of public resources and other forms of economic and financial crime.  

“Therefore, our coming to Awka is beyond geographical expansion. It is about taking the mandate of the EFCC closer to the people and closer to the economic activities we are meant to protect. EFCC exists not merely to arrest and prosecute. Our official mission encompasses prevention, enforcement and coordination in the effort to eradicate economic and financial crimes. This balance is extremely important.

“We must prosecute cases on the strength of evidence. We must trace and recover proceeds of crime. However, a fundamental question is, how do we prevent financial crime from occurring in the first place?  If we can identify vulnerabilities before billions of naira are lost, prevent fraudulent transactions before citizens lose their savings, strengthen procurement systems before public resources are diverted and interrupt criminal financial flows before they mature, then we would have saved the nation enormous economic and social costs.”

The chairman said within the period the regional office has been in operation, since February 2026, it has received a total of 393 petitions, investigating 311 of such petitions, secured 58 convictions and recovered 111 plots of land worth N323 million. He said a total of N835.9 million, $1,135, €400 have been recovered too.

The Speaker of House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, who represented President Bola Tinubu called on Anambra and Imo States to embrace the zonal office as their own way of ensuring transparency and accountability in their states. This he said, is another way of bringing the fight against corruption further down.