The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has disclosed that it sacked 27 officers from its workforce in 2024.
The officers were dismissed for various offences bordering on fraudulent activities and misconduct, and their dismissal followed the recommendation of the Staff Disciplinary Committee of the EFCC, which was ratified by the Executive Chairman, Mr. Ola Olukoyede.
This is according to a statement released by the Head, Media & Publicity of the Commission, Mr. Dele Oyewale on Monday as Olukoyede reiterated the commitment of the anti-graft agency to zero tolerance for corruption, warning that no officer is immune to disciplinary measures.
“Every modicum of allegation against any staff of the Commission would always be investigated, including a trending $400,000 claim of a yet-to-be-identified supposed staff of the EFCC against a Sectional Head. The core values of the Commission are sacrosanct and would always be held in optimal regard at all times,” he said.
The Commission also advised the public to disregard the sinister activities of impersonators and blackmailers using the name of its Executive Chairman to extort money from high-profile suspects being investigated by the EFCC.
Oyewale revealed that two (2) members of an alleged syndicate, Ojobo Joshua and Aliyu Hashim were recently arraigned before Justice Jude Onwuebuzie of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Abuja, for allegedly contacting a former Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mr. Mohammed Bello-Kaka and demanding $1million from him for “Olukoyede to give him soft landing” on a non-existing investigation.
The spokesperson stated that such characters are still “on the loose seeking victims”, emphasising that Olukoyede remains a man of integrity that cannot be swayed by monetary influences.
He enjoined the public to always report such disreputable elements to the Commission, maintaining that “the EFCC is aware of moves being hatched in some quarters to blackmail officers of the Commission through unwholesome means.”
He further said: “Suspects being investigated for some economic and financial crimes who have failed to compromise their investigators would always clutch at any straw. Such blackmailers should not be accorded any form of attention.”
