President Tinubu Commissions EFCC Directorate in Anambra

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has commissioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Zonal Directorate in Anambra State, strengthening the commission’s presence in the South-East and efforts to combat financial crimes.

The President, represented by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, performed the commissioning on Friday at Udoka Estate, Awka, and called on the governments of Anambra and Imo states to protect the facility and support the commission in carrying out its mandate.

The new directorate will serve Anambra and Imo states, with responsibilities including intelligence gathering, financial-crime investigations and prosecutions, protection of public resources, and collaboration with citizens and businesses across the South-East.

Abbas said the expansion of the EFCC’s operational network was consistent with the Nigerian Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda and its efforts to strengthen institutions responsible for combating corruption, money laundering and other financial crimes.

He urged the two state governments to provide the necessary support and ensure the security of the facility to enable the commission to operate effectively.

Speaking as keynote speaker, Anambra Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, described the fight against corruption and financial crimes as a collective responsibility, stressing that sustainable development could not be achieved where economic and financial crimes were pervasive.

Soludo welcomed the establishment of the directorate, saying decentralising EFCC operations would bring the fight against financial crimes closer to the grassroots.

The governor pledged his administration’s cooperation with the commission and suggested that EFCC operations should eventually extend across Nigeria’s 774 local government areas to strengthen financial-crime prevention and enforcement.

Soludo also recounted his experience with an EFCC investigation following his tenure as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, saying he honoured an invitation and participated in the investigation. He stressed the need for investigations to be concluded and their outcomes communicated to persons involved.

The EFCC Executive Chairman, Mr Ola Olukoyede, said the Awka directorate represented an expansion of the commission’s operational capacity, access to justice and collaboration with the Nigerian public.

Olukoyede said the facility would help protect legitimate economic activities in Anambra, Imo and the wider South-East from fraud, cybercrime, money laundering, diversion of public resources and other financial crimes.

He disclosed that more than 60 per cent of the commission’s processes had been digitised, adding that the EFCC received 49,615 petitions between October 2023 and July 2024, investigated 39,632 cases, filed 14,436 cases in court and secured 10,872 convictions during the period.

The EFCC chairman said the commission was also placing greater emphasis on prevention, including monitoring Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) releases to identify vulnerabilities and help protect public funds before they were diverted.

He called on citizens, traditional rulers and other stakeholders to support whistleblowing and remain vigilant over public resources, assuring legitimate businesses and residents that EFCC officers would operate within the law.

According to him, the commission’s presence in Awka was not merely to investigate offenders but also to work with governments and economic actors to identify vulnerabilities, strengthen financial controls and protect legitimate economic activities.

Imo Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, commended the Nigerian Government for strengthening the EFCC’s operational capacity and pledged his administration’s cooperation in tackling financial crimes and protecting public resources.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Financial Crimes, Senator Emmanuel Udende, and Chairman of the House Committee on Financial Crimes, Ginger Obinna Onwusibe, reaffirmed the National Assembly’s support for the commission’s operations.

The Chairman of the Anambra State Traditional Rulers’ Council, Igwe Chidubem Iweka, called for greater emphasis on prevention, including the introduction of anti-corruption education in primary schools and traditional oaths of office for public officials.

The Awka directorate forms part of the EFCC’s broader expansion of its operational network, aimed at bringing financial-crime enforcement and prevention closer to citizens and economic centres across Nigeria.