Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, says the agency recently recovered “many millions from a religious organisation,” stating that some religious organisations are more corrupt than public officers.
Olukoyede, who spoke about integrity at a Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) leadership conference in Lagos on Friday, said: “Upon my appointment, I reflected on my role as Chief of Staff and Secretary to the Commission. I recognised that one of our greatest challenges is integrity. Without integrity, corruption flourishes. I asked myself, how can I make a difference from my predecessors?
“The first unprecedented step I took was to publicly declare my assets, setting a new standard. No one mandated me; it was a personal commitment to transparency. I challenged every staff member to do the same because fairness demands clean hands.”
The EFCC boss noted that despite pressures, he upheld the law and rejected improper demands, even from influential figures.
“Though I was warned my stance might jeopardise my position, I remained steadfast. My conviction stems from faith in my principles and a belief in a greater purpose beyond current circumstances.
“Some of the things we do that may compromise us, we will run away from it. So, three weeks after a panel was set up—of course, some of us who followed what happened earlier in 2020, including you, understand what I’m talking about—my name was all over the place, left, right, and centre.”
Olukoyede said he was under investigation for two and a half years and suspended for doing nothing. At the end of the day, he said he was given a clean bill.
“So, if you are here, you are a public officer, you are holding a position of trust, know that one day you’ll be called upon to account for your deeds. If it’s not here on earth, it will be beyond,” he said.
He noted that he was soon back as the chairman of the same organisation where he was subjected to ridicule before he was found to be clean.
According to him: “I recognise that there are many senior pastors here, our daddies and mummies, captains of industries. In the course of my work in the anti-corruption environment, I’ve had cause to convict pastors.
“It’s not a palatable story, but I need to tell you that I’ve had cause to convict Imams and other religious leaders.”
“Just because someone is called a pastor, Christian, Muslim, or Imam does not insulate them from corruption.
“It saddens me that one of the pastors we convicted belongs to my own denomination. Yes, it might not be a pleasant story to tell, but it’s the reality. How many of us can sincerely ask ourselves this question: Can I defend everything I possess today as a pastor, public officer, leader of opinion, or captain of industry?
“We can stand here and speak grammar from morning to evening, but that doesn’t mean we are clean. Meanwhile, these are people that occupy front positions in the religious centres.”
He said in other countries, people don’t gather in churches or mosques to pray five or ten times a day. He said, “They don’t even know Jesus Christ or Muhammad, but they do the right thing. They follow the law, they obey the rules, they comply.
“Let’s check ourselves. Are we really God-fearing people? Do we understand what it means to be a Christian or a Muslim, or are we just being religious?
“Those of us at the forefront of this battle, when we make one or two moves, the same people who are supposed to support us begin to throw banter on social media. Look, is it not a shame? Yes, we are not perfect, but when we see something that’s going towards doing the right thing, are we not supposed to support it as people who are God-fearing?
“In a particular state, we carried out an operation. We arrested 227 people. As I’m talking to you, 113 were indicted. I’ve already filed charges against over 80.”
Olukoyede said in his short time in office, he had had cause to arraign two ex-governors for fraudulent activities running into multiple billions of naira, and recommended several people to be suspended from office.
He said, “Some of you must have read on the pages of newspaper about tens of billions (of naira) that have been recovered in eight months. Tens of billions—I don’t want to mention it directly here. I’m not completely proud of that because, looking inward, by virtue of my experience in that environment, I know for you to have recovered even 1 billion, at least 10 billion must have been stolen.
“Is it not a shame that some of us will come out and carry placards when we are asking somebody who has held office for eight years to come and account for what they did? It’s shameful.”
He said that “not until we realise and we look inward that we are the cause of our own problems in Nigeria, there will be no solution”.
He pleaded with religious leaders to use their podiums to preach honesty and to go even further by demonstrating it for their congregations to see.
He said, “Just this past week, I’ve had to recover how many millions from a religious organisation. You appoint a pastor and they use the opportunity to become a big man. We don’t even know what you are doing to earn legitimate wealth on your own.
“You live off the people’s money, off the ministry, off the church, off the mosque. You can’t even explain the source of your wealth. If you, as a religious person are not accountable, how can you expect a public officer to be accountable?”
Regarding his assertion that some religious organisations are more corrupt than public offices, he said, “I have evidence to support that. It may not be expedient for me to share all of it now, but let us go home with that. You look at the speck in somebody else’s eye, meanwhile, there is a log in your own eye.
“We preach about these things on the altar, but right under our noses, the same things happen. Sometimes we try to cover it up. Let us deal with our own house, but when it is a public officer, we all start throwing accusations. Are we doing justice to this country?”
“I can speak like this because I’m an insider too, and I also belong to the other side. Now, you know, it’s only a foolish person who would condemn their own constituency. But again, the truth must be told; that’s part of integrity,” he said.
Originally published in Sahara Reporters