Olukoyede’s ledger without a witness

The figures were enormous, but the document behind them was not the report Nigeria’s anti-graft agency is required to file. That is the central criticism in a Punch column examining EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede’s latest presentation.

At an event in Abuja, Olukoyede cited N1.233 trillion in recoveries, 10,872 convictions and a 75.1 percent conviction-to-filing ratio. The column argues that he delivered the figures through a press statement rather than the comprehensive, audited report required under Section 37 of the EFCC Act.

The law requires the commission to submit that report to the National Assembly by September 30 each year. The column says no EFCC chairman has filed the full audited report since Nuhu Ribadu did so in 2006. It describes the gap as especially striking for an institution that presents itself as an accountability body.

The column also examines what it calls 34 months of high-profile enforcement under Olukoyede. It notes three convictions highlighted as landmark successes, involving Saleh Mamman, Robert Orya and Chukwunyere Nwabuoku. But it emphasizes that none involved a sitting official or governor, and that all three men had left office before their cases concluded.

Several other cases remain pending. Gabriel Suswam’s case over Benue Cement shares is still at the stage of adopting written addresses. Sambo Dasuki’s arms-procurement charges remain unresolved, while Sule Lamido’s trial has repeatedly stalled. Yahaya Bello faces two trials without a verdict, and Sadiya Umar Farouq has been declared wanted, according to the column. Its broader argument is that accountability cannot rest on headline figures alone, especially without the statutory record and scrutiny those figures require.