The Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ola Olukoyede, says more than 40 staff members have been dismissed for corruption and financial malpractice in the last three years.

Olukoyede disclosed this on Monday in Abuja at a media interactive session to mark his three-year stewardship at the commission’s headquarters.

The chairman also said that about five of the commission’s staff are currently being prosecuted for corrupt practices.

“In the past two and a half to three years of my service, I have 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.

The EFCC chairman said some of the affected staff members are already being prosecuted, while case files involving others are being prepared for prosecution.

“You can follow those cases in court; they are public knowledge.

“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.

Olukoyede said the disciplinary measures were part of efforts to ensure EFCC personnel were held to the same standards of accountability the agency demanded from other Nigerians.

“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 also announced the renaming of the commission’s former Internal Affairs Department to the Department of Ethics and Integrity as part of its drive for “internal cleansing.”

He said the commission had also introduced a gift policy to strengthen transparency and prevent conflicts of interest.

According to him, under the policy, staff will be required to declare gifts above a specified value, including those received from friends and relatives at home and abroad.

“The commission will also define the categories of gifts personnel can accept and require officers to account for their sources of income and standard of living,” he added.

The chairman called for stronger institutional reforms and policy changes to fight corruption, saying law enforcement alone could not win the war.

“The most effective system that fights financial crime is not law enforcement. It is the policy regime, institutional reforms that close leakages,” he said.

He urged the media and civil society to return to their watchdog roles.

(NAN)

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has urged former Bayelsa State Governor, Timipre Sylva, who has been declared wanted over an alleged $14.86m fraud, to make himself available for questioning.

The commission’s spokesman, Dele Oyewale, stated this on Monday while reacting to Sylva’s allegation that the anti-graft agency had conducted itself more as an organ of the All Progressives Congress than as an institution of the state.

“He has been declared wanted; he should make himself available to the commission,” Oyewale said when asked to respond to the allegation.

Sylva, who announced his resignation from the APC on Monday, said he had forwarded a copy of his resignation letter to the EFCC, accusing the commission of acting as an organ of the ruling party.

The former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources also accused the APC of abandoning its founding ideals and said the Tinubu administration had disappointed Nigerians.

The resignation letter, addressed to the APC chairman of Ward 4 in Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, was delivered electronically. It was also copied to the national chairman of the APC, the executive chairman of the EFCC and the chairman of the APC in Bayelsa State.

Sylva said his decision to quit the party followed consultations with his family, associates, colleagues and sympathisers.

He said he had no option but to leave what he described as a “floundering ship whose fate appears to have been sealed by its irredeemable load of iniquities.”

The former governor said he could no longer remain in a party whose leaders, in his view, had embraced the belief that “all is fair in politics.”

In the resignation letter dated August 31, 2026, and obtained by our correspondents, Sylva said the ideals upon which the APC was founded had been “thoroughly and unrecognisably thwarted.”

He wrote, “As a founding member of the APC, and one who joined other well-meaning Nigerians in building the Party with sweat and money, it is deeply saddening to witness how the ideals we espoused have been so thoroughly and unrecognisably thwarted.

“Moreover, I cannot, in all good conscience, continue to belong to a Party whose leaders believe that ‘all is fair in politics;’ and have consistently demonstrated that belief in practice.

“All cannot be fair in any endeavour of life. The demands of basic decency and morality forbid it. Unfortunately, this mentality appears to underpin virtually every action, and even inaction, of this administration.”

Sylva also criticised the APC-led Federal Government, saying it had failed to meet the expectations of Nigerians.

“The present Government, formed under the banner of the APC we once loved, has disappointed the vast majority of Nigerians. And I can see neither a credible attempt nor any possibility of a revamp,” he stated.

He said he was leaving the party in the belief that Nigerians would use the next election to change the political direction of the country.

“I am therefore left with no other choice than to jettison a floundering ship whose fate appears to have been sealed by its irredeemable load of iniquities. I have no doubt that, in the coming election, Nigerians will vote for Nigeria and free the Country from this stranglehold on our beautiful country,” he said.

Explaining why he copied the EFCC in the resignation letter, Sylva accused the commission of becoming increasingly political and expressed fear that his resignation could trigger further investigation against him and his associates.

He wrote, “I am deliberately putting the EFCC in copy of this letter because, of late, it has conducted itself more as an organ of the APC than as an institution of State.

“I am fully aware that this action of mine may invite a redoubled witch-hunt against me and my associates, but that is a risk I am willing to take.”

The former governor expressed confidence that Nigerians would use the next general election to “vote for Nigeria” and free the country from what he described as the current “stranglehold” on the country.

Sylva expressed confidence that Nigerians would use the next election to change the political direction of the country.

The EFCC declared Sylva wanted in November 2025 in connection with an alleged case of conspiracy and dishonest conversion involving $14,859,257.

His resignation from the APC also comes months after he was linked to an alleged plot against the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

Sylva is listed as a defendant and described as “still at large” in a 13-count federal charge involving allegations of treason, terrorism-related offences, conspiracy and money laundering arising from the alleged plot.

Multiple reports indicate that Sylva left the country after the investigation into the alleged plot became public. Sources familiar with the investigation also said he suspended plans to return to Nigeria after learning of a raid on his Abuja residence and the arrest of some of his associates.

Investigators have reportedly identified Sylva as an alleged principal financier of the plot, accusing him of contributing about N785m through Purple Waves Limited, an Abuja-based company.

More than N5bn was reportedly pooled for the alleged operation, with investigators tracing about N785m through Purple Waves and a bureau de change operator before the funds were allegedly distributed.

Investigators also reportedly linked funds paid into Purple Waves to proceeds from contracts awarded by the Niger Delta Development Commission and loans obtained by the company.

Sylva has denied involvement in the alleged plot. The allegations remain subject to judicial proceedings and he has not been convicted.

In July 2026, the Department of State Services arraigned five of his associates for allegedly concealing his whereabouts after he was declared wanted in connection with the alleged plot. They pleaded not guilty and were granted bail.

In May 2026, the Federal High Court in Abuja granted an interim forfeiture order covering nine properties linked to Sylva following an application by the EFCC.

Sylva served as Bayelsa State governor from 2007 to 2012, with his tenure interrupted by court rulings. He later served as Minister of State for Petroleum Resources under former President Muhammadu Buhari. (The PUNCH)

Fifteen National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members who were abducted by suspected kidnappers along the Aloma-Egane Expressway in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State have regained their freedom after a rescue operation by security agents.

The corps members were reportedly kidnapped on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, while travelling from Bayelsa State to Abuja after completing their mandatory three-week NYSC orientation programme.

Their release has brought relief to their families and loved ones, who had been anxiously awaiting news of their whereabouts since the incident.

The corps members had completed their orientation exercise at the NYSC camp in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa State and were reportedly travelling to Abuja when the vehicles conveying them came under attack.

Armed assailants were said to have ambushed the travellers along the Aloma-Egane Expressway before taking the corps members into captivity.

Following the incident, security agencies launched efforts to locate the victims and secure their safe release.

The successful rescue has now allowed the corps members to reunite with their families, although accounts emerging from some of the victims indicate that they went through a frightening experience while in captivity.

One of the rescued corps members, identified as David Ayodele, recounted part of the ordeal in a video circulating on social media.

David explained that the corps members had just completed their three-week orientation programme and were travelling towards Abuja to begin their respective places of primary assignment when their vehicle was intercepted.

According to him, the attackers ambushed the vehicle carrying the corps members and subsequently took them hostage.

David said the kidnappers warned the victims against attempting to escape, allegedly threatening to kill anyone who tried to flee.

He said the threats created fear among the corps members, leaving them uncertain about what would happen to them.

The victim further claimed that the kidnappers told them they could remain in captivity for as long as one month.

According to his account, the threat of prolonged captivity added to the psychological pressure experienced by the corps members during their time with the assailants.

The rescued corps member’s account provides an insight into the ordeal faced by the victims before security operatives eventually secured their freedom.

The incident occurred shortly after the corps members completed one of the compulsory stages of the NYSC programme.

The three-week orientation exercise is designed to prepare corps members for their service year and includes activities aimed at promoting discipline, national integration and community development.

After completing the exercise in Bayelsa State, the affected corps members reportedly commenced their journey to Abuja when they were attacked.

Their abduction has consequently raised fresh concerns about the safety of corps members travelling between states, particularly on highways where criminal groups have been known to target motorists and passengers.

The rescue operation was reportedly carried out by security agents following efforts to locate the abducted corps members.

The successful operation has brought an end to the immediate ordeal faced by the 15 victims.

While details surrounding the operation remain limited, the release of the corps members is expected to provide some relief to their families, who had been living with uncertainty since the abduction.