EFCC Uncovers New Tactic by Politicians to Conceal Corruption
- The EFCC has uncovered a tactic by some politicians to declare assets they do not yet own before taking office, enabling them to cover future corrupt acquisitions
- EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede revealed an investigation where a property valued at over N3bn was declared with a false address before it was built
- He called on the Code of Conduct Bureau to be vigilant against such “anticipatory declaration” practices
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has exposed a scheme in which politicians declare ownership of assets they have not yet acquired before taking office.
The anti-graft agency described the practice as a calculated plan to facilitate the looting of public funds once in power.
Source: Facebook
EFCC exposes how politicians evade accountability
EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja during the launch of the Virtual Tool on the Code of Conduct for Public Officers.
The event was organised by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) in collaboration with the Technical Unit on Governance and Anti-Corruption Reforms (TUGAR).
According to Olukoyede, investigations revealed that some politically exposed persons include non-existent properties in their asset declaration forms.
These properties are later built or purchased using illicit funds after the individuals assume public office.
“There was an investigation we carried out, and we discovered something not too strange, but proves the ingenuity and the criminally smart way that some of our politically exposed persons carried out some of the nefarious activities we investigated them for,” Olukoyede said.
Olukoyede mentions governor declares asset in advance
He narrated a case where a politician declared ownership of a mansion valued at over N3 billion. The property’s address on the declaration form did not match the actual location.
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A deeper probe revealed that the building did not exist at the time of the declaration.
“After the person won an election, before he was sworn in, he got the asset declaration form and put a particular number: No 39, so and so Street, a big mansion owned by him. By the time we investigated, we discovered the asset was on number 44,” he said.
Olukoyede described this as “anticipatory declaration of assets” and warned that it was becoming a preferred tactic for corrupt officials.
He added that the suspect had already registered the undeveloped property at the land registry and designed the mansion he intended to build, signalling premeditated looting.
“In other words, before he was sworn in, he had started thinking about the money to steal and what to do with the money,” Olukoyede stated.
He called on the CCB to be more vigilant in scrutinising such declarations.
Earlier, the Head of Service of the Federation, Didi Esther Walson-Jack, explained that the new virtual tool would help uphold ethical standards in the civil service and strengthen anti-corruption measures. She noted that stricter enforcement of asset declaration rules would deter abuse of public office.
EFCC accused of arresting ADC top leaders
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the EFCC questioned ex-governor of Sokoto Aminu Tambuwal over alleged ₦189bn withdrawals, sparking claims by ADC of political intimidation.
ADC accused EFCC of bias and targeting opposition leaders ahead of 2027, but EFCC denied acting for any party.
Internal rifts deepened in the coalition as key figures distanced themselves, with ADC leadership seeming to shift to acting chairman Nafiu Bala.
Source: Legit.ng
