Malami: EFCC Not Victimising Anyone, I Inherited His Case – Olukoyede

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has faulted the public criticism and persecution claim by the immediate-past Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mallam Abubakar Malami (SAN).

Olukoyede, on Sunday, while speaking on a national television, expressed dissatisfaction over the public view of several administrative misconduct cases being investigated by the anti-graft agency.

Malami is standing trial alongside some family members on 16 counts of money laundering involving about N8.7 billion.

The EFCC boss clarified that Malami’s probe started before his appointment as the Commission’s boss.

Olukoyede dismissed Malami’s claim of political motives against him, saying the commission has not wavered in investigating and prosecuting those suspected of being involved in corruption cases.

“There’s nothing like that. The particular case predated my appointment. And, I didn’t give a nod to initiate proceedings until I found that we have a water-tight investigation,” he said.

The EFCC boss denied being indicted by Justice Ayo Salami’s panel.

Olukoyede said, “I challenge those making such claims of indictment against me by Justice Ayo Salami Panel to publish the report.

“Let me tell Nigerians that the commission’s investigation panel cleared me of any wrongdoing. The presidency at the time also cleared me. Also, the law enforcement agencies handed me a clean bill.

“I can say clearly that there’s no report anywhere that I’ve been involved in any fraudulent dealings, whether as the commission’s chief of staff, secretary, and now, the chairman of the commission.”

Noting that the commission, under his watch, made notable achievements last year, he said, “Our big win in 2025 was our ability to review and revive old cases that Nigerians thought were dead.

“Some of the cases affect past governors and ministers, and many such cases are in courts.

“We were able to recover assets. Nigerians are aware of the Lokogoma assets. One major recovery was a university.”

The EFCC recovered Nok University in Kachia, Kaduna, after a court ordered its final forfeiture because it was built with stolen public funds by a former civil servant.

It was converted to the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, turning the illegally acquired asset into a public institution.