EFCC Warns Against Alleged Media Campaigns to Discredit Its Work

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has raised concerns over alleged coordinated campaigns aimed at tarnishing its reputation, claiming that politicians and interest groups with stakes in ongoing investigations are orchestrating attacks against the commission.

EFCC Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, in a statement on Wednesday, said: “A motley crowd of paid jobbers comprising politicians, academics, so-called civil society activists and some Nigerian fugitives in the diaspora have been recruited by these disgruntled elements to orchestrate campaigns of calumny through sponsored media attacks targeting the chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, and the institution itself with phantom allegations of political bias in the execution of the commission’s mandate.”

He added, “Their objective is to befuddle the works of the commission and, through scaremongering, intimidate the commission into a timid mode, where it will be afraid to investigate opposition politicians for fear of being labelled as partisan. This campaign is likely to intensify as the political space becomes charged, in the months leading to the 2027 general elections.”

Oyewale stressed that EFCC is closely monitoring those behind the campaign and will not allow any distractions from its mandate of promoting public accountability. “The commission reiterates its non-political stance in all its activities. Facts on the ground clearly show that any political actor, whether in the ruling or opposition parties, with corruption baggage, has no hiding place from the operational radar of the commission,” he noted.

He further emphasized that ongoing investigations and trials involving political figures are conducted in line with the EFCC Establishment Act and constitutional provisions, including the presumption of innocence. “The commission has no alliance or working relationship with any political party. Commentaries about defendants’ presumption of innocence are in line with the Constitution and not intended as defence of any individual or group,” Oyewale said.

Concluding, he warned: “The EFCC will not be pressured or blackmailed into making public disclosures of politically exposed persons under investigation. We remain committed to justice, without fear or favour, in fulfilling our mandate.”

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