By George Ozalla
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has dismissed more than 40 of its officers over alleged corruption and financial malpractice since the assumption of office of its Chairman, Ola Olukoyede.
Olukoyede disclosed this on Monday at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja, saying the affected personnel were sanctioned as part of measures to enforce discipline and strengthen integrity within the anti corruption agency.
The EFCC chairman said more than five of the dismissed officers were currently facing prosecution, stressing that the commission would not shield its own personnel from the consequences of corrupt conduct.
“In the past two and a half years or three years of my service, I’ve asked them to dismiss over 40 staff on account of corruption and financial malpractice. More than five of them are being prosecuted at the moment,” he said.
Olukoyede said it would be contradictory for the EFCC to investigate and prosecute people in other government agencies for corruption while allowing its own personnel accused of similar offences to escape with mere dismissal.
“Because if that is what people do in other agencies and I arrest them, I investigate them, I prosecute them, why must I just dismiss you if you do it within our own system and I’m not prosecuting you?” he asked.
He said the public could follow some of the cases involving the affected officers, noting that they were already before the courts.
“You can follow those cases in court; they are public knowledge,” Olukoyede said.
The EFCC chairman also announced the renaming of the commission’s Internal Affairs Department as the Department of Ethics and Integrity, describing the development as part of efforts to strengthen internal accountability and professional conduct among its personnel.
He further disclosed that the commission was introducing a gift policy to regulate gifts received by its officers and require the declaration of gifts above a specified value.
According to him, the policy would apply to cash and other gifts received by personnel, including those sent by relatives living outside Nigeria.
Olukoyede said the measure was necessary to enable the commission to monitor the lifestyles of its personnel and determine whether their assets and spending could be justified by their legitimate earnings.
He warned that officers assigned to fight financial crimes must themselves maintain clean records and uphold the standards of integrity expected of the public.
“You must be sure that your hands are clean. You can’t be fighting corruption when your hands are soiled with corrupt practices,” he said.
The EFCC chairman said internal discipline would remain central to the commission’s operations, insisting that personnel must be subjected to the same principles of accountability and transparency that the agency demands from persons under investigation for financial crimes.
