The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Olanipekun Olukoyede, has disclosed that he turned down monetary offers amounting to nearly N500 million from various individuals during his mother’s burial in 2019.
Olukoyede made this revelation while speaking at the 38th Anti-Corruption Situation Room event held in Abuja.
The event, which focused on ethics, integrity, and corruption risk assessments in Nigeria, was organized by the Human and Environmental Development Agenda Resource Centre, the Kano State Public Complaint and Anti-Corruption Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and the EFCC, with support from the MacArthur Foundation.
He explained that while serving as EFCC Secretary at the time, he received numerous financial gifts in the form of cheques and drafts from high-ranking officials, including ministers, permanent secretaries, and directors. The large sum of money was sent to him as condolence support for his mother’s funeral.
Recounting the experience, Olukoyede said that when he arrived at his family home in Ekiti State, he was surprised to find about 17 cows in his compound, including some that were pregnant. Shortly after, his security guard handed him a carton filled with cheques and drafts from various individuals. After reviewing the contents, he realized the total amount was close to N500 million.
The EFCC chairman narrated, “I lost my mother in the year 2019 (in Ekiti State). We went for the funeral. I was the secretary of the EFCC then. People came. So I went to my place a day before the funeral service. By the time I got to my small compound, which I built several years ago before I joined the EFCC, I saw about 17 cows in my compound, including pregnant ones.
“When I got home, my gate man presented a box (carton) to me and inside it, I saw so many cheques and drafts from ministers, permanent secretaries, directors, DGs of agencies, etc.
“And so, I went in and showed it to my wife. She said, ‘Praise God’. I said, ‘Praise God for what?’ By the time we put all the cheques together, it counted close to N500m.”
Reflecting on his decision, Olukoyede noted that if he had accepted the funds and deposited them into his account, it could have led to serious consequences. He pointed out that by July 2020, he was under investigation, and any trace of those funds in his account would have raised suspicions about his integrity.
“Now, assuming all those cheques were paid into my account as traditional gifts and some of the MDAs that we were investigating in the EFCC, some of their directors and their DGs and their ministers sent cheques to me… assuming they found those cheques paid into my account, would it have been a good defence for me to say it was my mother’s burial when they were looking for me to roast? For me, that is what you call integrity. When you go beyond a level of expectation,” he stated.
Olukoyede also shared another instance of maintaining ethical standards during his tenure as EFCC Secretary. He revealed that he rejected applications from close family members who sought to participate in a government auction of forfeited assets.
He said, “My chairman then, we agreed that we should select a committee. So, we selected an assets forfeiture committee of about six directors, including myself as the chairman of the committee and a few other staff.
“We advertised for auctioneers. So, they applied. We were able to shortlist about 11 of them. My brother-in-law happens to be an international auctioneer. He applied. His application came to me. I saw it and I shredded it. So, my PA who knew him, called him and told him what I did, and for six months, he did not talk to me. So we did the auction.
“One of my elder brothers called me. ‘I heard you are doing an auction. I needed a truck for my business. I said, ‘Sir, go and read what we published.’ Conflict of interest. No staff of EFCC or immediate members of the family is allowed. He said no, they would use another name. I knew they could do that. I told him that I was not interested.
“After about eight months down the line, they set up a panel to investigate activities of the EFCC. My chairman and I were placed on suspension. They began to investigate what we did in the office. They investigated the particular auction I did in Port Harcourt. Now, assuming they found the name of my brother-in-law as one of the auctioneers. What would have been the result? Probably I may be in jail by now,” Olukoyede said.
