By Peter Omopo
Abuja, July 9, 2025 — The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has called on the National Assembly to urgently pass legislation that would criminalise the possession of unexplained wealth in Nigeria.
Speaking at the National Conference on Public Accounts and Fiscal Governance held in Abuja on Wednesday, Olukoyede stressed that the ongoing fight against corruption remains hampered by legal loopholes that protect individuals with assets grossly disproportionate to their legitimate income.
“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,” he pleaded. “If we don’t make individuals accountable for what they have, we’ll never get it right.”
The EFCC chairman described the current situation — where anti-graft investigators must first prove a predicate offence such as theft or fraud before seizing questionable assets — as a major obstacle.
“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,” he said.
Olukoyede also disclosed that the EFCC recently commenced a comprehensive investigation into the operations of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), with preliminary findings already raising serious concerns.
“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,” he revealed. “If this is what we’re seeing on the surface, imagine what lies beneath.”
He linked the systemic corruption in the public sector to Nigeria’s broader challenges, including insecurity, poverty, and underdevelopment.
“There is a very strong connection between the mismanagement of our resources and insecurity,” Olukoyede asserted. “When you look at banditry, kidnapping, terrorism — trace it back and you’ll find a pattern of corrupt practices and diversion of funds that were meant to improve people’s lives.”
The EFCC chief urged lawmakers to strengthen the nation’s legal framework by introducing a law that makes it a strict liability offence to own assets that cannot be explained through lawful earnings.
The Unexplained Wealth Bill, which was rejected by the previous National Assembly, seeks to empower anti-corruption agencies to investigate and confiscate properties or assets whose origins cannot be legally justified.
Olukoyede’s remarks come as Nigeria continues to grapple with fiscal mismanagement, rising debt, and public outcry over persistent corruption among top government officials.
