Ola Olukoyede, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), disclosed that two of the agency’s staff members were recently dismissed due to allegations of corruption. This information was disclosed during the opening of the 6th Annual Criminal Law Review Conference, which was organized by the Rule of Law Development Foundation in Abuja. The conference, which spans five days, is entitled “Optimizing the Administration of Criminal Justice in Nigeria: How to Navigate Emerging and Systemic Challenges of Insecurity and Economic Hardship.” Olukoyede stated that the two officials were dismissed two weeks ago and that they would be prosecuted in addition to being dismissed.
“So many other reforms are going on; the issue of our staff and all of that. Just two weeks ago, I had cause to dismiss two staff. You can’t be fighting corruption and your hands are dirty.
“He who comes to equity, your hands must also be cleaned. And I say I will not only be dismissing them, I will also be prosecuting them because that is what we prosecute others for.
“So you will see that; we are preparing the case files of some of the people we have dismissed. If an EFCC staff will not be able to stand publicly with his two hands up and challenge the entire public; whose goat have I collected? Whose bottle of water have I taken illegitimately?
“And I have said this to Nigerians; who has ever given me one kobo in the course of my work, come out and say it. I stand to be challenged. I can’t be easily influenced by things like that. That’s why we must make up our minds to work together to do the right thing. Any staff that is corrupt, I will show you the way out. Again, there are some people who may want to be overzealous. Out of 12, you must have Judas.
“I can’t stand here and say all is perfect. As many as you see, report them to us and we will do justice,” he said.
Olukoyede said even he was once subjected to investigation for two years as EFCC secretary.
“I am not just sitting there as chairman of EFCC. I have been on the other side. I have been subjected to investigation myself for two years. So I know what it means to subject people to investigations.
“My major objective is to use the instrumentality of this mandate to stimulate the economy and to also follow the rule of law,” he said.
He said integrity is needed to survive, even as legal practitioners.
“Integrity is not about law, it is not about your advocacy ability to write beautiful briefs. No. It is about law and morality. Your conscience must tell you to do the right thing. That is what integrity is all about.
“Finally, ethics, value and standard of legal practice must also be reviewed. These are essential to me because the job of EFCC is to ensure that corruption does not find space in our national life,” he said.
Olukoyede said he welcomed constructive criticism of the agency.
“I have never been averse to that. But let us do it in a responsible way. What do we benefit from running down our institutions?” he asked.
