The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has raised the alarm over what it described as planned campaigns of calumny by politicians and groups with vested interests in suspects currently under investigation or facing prosecution by the commission.
In a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja, the EFCC’s spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, said intelligence available to the commission indicated that “a motley crowd of paid jobbers” had been recruited by disgruntled elements to orchestrate coordinated smear campaigns against the anti-graft agency.
According to Oyewale, the planned attacks are being carried out mainly through sponsored media reports and commentaries aimed at undermining public confidence in the EFCC. He said the campaign was specifically targeting the Chairman of the commission, Mr Ola Olukoyede, and the institution itself, with what he described as “phantom allegations” of political bias in the discharge of its statutory duties.
“The attack is targeting the Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, and the institution with phantom allegations of political bias in the execution of the commission’s mandate,” Oyewale said. “Their objective is to befuddle the work of the commission and, through scaremongering, intimidate the commission into a timid mode.”
He explained that the ultimate aim of the campaign was to make the EFCC hesitant about investigating opposition politicians, for fear of being labelled partisan or accused of acting at the behest of the ruling party. Oyewale warned that the campaign was likely to intensify as Nigeria’s political environment becomes increasingly charged in the months leading up to the 2027 general elections.
The EFCC spokesperson said those recruited to carry out the smear campaigns should be under no illusion that their actions were going unnoticed. “The commission wishes to put those recruited into this ignoble enterprise on notice that their activities are under close watch,” he said.
Reaffirming the agency’s mandate, Oyewale stressed that the EFCC would not allow itself to be distracted from its “patriotic task” of improving public accountability and combating corruption in Nigeria. He reiterated that the commission remains non-political in all its operations.
Oyewale further stated that any political actor, whether in the ruling party or the opposition, with unresolved corruption issues had no hiding place. He disclosed that several influential figures from both sides of the political divide were either currently on trial or under investigation by the commission.
“Nigerians need to appreciate the fact that the commission is keeping faith with its Establishment Act in all its operations,” he said, adding that references to the constitutional presumption of innocence should not be misconstrued as a defence of any individual under investigation or prosecution.
The EFCC also dismissed suggestions that it maintains alliances with any political party, describing such claims as unfounded and misleading. Oyewale said the commission would not succumb to pressure or blackmail to disclose the names of politically exposed persons under investigation publicly.
“The EFCC reiterates its commitment to justice, without fear or favour, in the fulfilment of its mandate,” he said.
