The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has recovered assets and cash valued at about N1.233 trillion in 34 months, with more than two-thirds of the recoveries returned to individuals, corporate organisations and other beneficiaries.

Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, disclosed this on Monday during a media briefing in Abuja, where he presented the Commission’s performance between October 2023 and July 2026.

According to Olukoyede, the Commission recovered and released N836.34 billion to individuals and corporate bodies and other beneficiaries, while about N397.26 billion went directly to the Federal Government and public institutions.

He said the recoveries reflected the EFCC’s shift towards ensuring that proceeds of crime were returned to their rightful owners and deployed for productive national purposes.

“Two out of every three naira recovered were on behalf of beneficiaries other than the Federal Government,” Olukoyede said.

He explained that the Commission received 49,673 petitions, investigated 39,615 cases, filed 14,476 cases in court and secured 10,872 convictions within the period.

The figures represent a conviction-to-filing ratio of more than 75 per cent, according to the EFCC chairman.

In the first half of 2026 alone, the Commission recorded 1,370 convictions from 1,889 cases filed, which Olukoyede said reflected a prosecutorial approach driven by evidence and courtroom outcomes.

He said analysis of the Commission’s cases between 2024 and 2026 showed that advance fee fraud and cybercrime accounted for nearly two-thirds of the 46,288 offences recorded across nine major crime categories.

The EFCC chairman, however, noted that financial crime was becoming increasingly diversified, with significant increases in procurement fraud, bank fraud, cybercrime and economic-governance offences.

He said the Commission had also secured convictions in several high-profile cases, insisting that political office and social status would not shield anyone from investigation and prosecution.

“The principle is simple, no office or title places anyone beyond the reach of the law. We will continue to investigate professionally, prosecute on the strength of evidence and allow the courts to determine guilt or innocence,” he said.

Olukoyede said the Commission’s specialised enforcement operations covering money laundering, unlicensed bureaux de change, illegal mining, virtual assets and terrorist financing had also produced significant results.

On the utilisation of recovered assets, he said the Federal Government had begun converting proceeds of crime into investments that could directly benefit Nigerians.

He recalled that in August 2024, the Federal Government approved the allocation of N50 billion each from recovered proceeds to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation.

Further funding for NELFUND and the Consumer Credit Corporation from EFCC recoveries was subsequently approved in 2026.

Olukoyede said the initiative demonstrated how anti-corruption enforcement could go beyond punishment.

“When recovered criminal value helps finance education and household credit, enforcement moves beyond punishment to restoration and productive national use,” he said.

He also cited the forfeiture of the former NOK University, which was subsequently converted into the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, Kaduna State.

According to him, the institution enrolled 1,909 students in December 2025, creating educational opportunities and economic benefits for communities in Southern Kaduna.

Beyond cash recoveries, Olukoyede said the Commission secured the forfeiture of 10,053 tangible assets through interim and final court orders during the 34-month period.

The assets included 8,198 electronic items, 1,177 real estate assets, 370 automobiles and 251 plots of land, as well as schools, factories, hotels, shops, oil rigs, barges, machinery and aircraft.

The Commission also recorded the forfeiture of 102 tonnes of solid minerals, while proceeds from the disposal of assets under final forfeiture orders were paid into government coffers.

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, who spoke at the briefing, commended the Commission’s performance and urged journalists to give greater attention to its achievements.

Onanuga said he was impressed by the range of financial and economic crimes being investigated by the Commission and the impact of its recoveries.

“The achievements are there, and it is just for us to help the EFCC blow its trumpet,” he said.

He added that the Commission’s role was no longer limited to recovering money from criminals and returning it to victims of fraud.

According to him, the deployment of recovered proceeds to education financing and consumer credit demonstrated the broader economic value of anti-corruption enforcement.

Olukoyede said the overall results showed that effective anti-corruption enforcement could strengthen public revenues, return working capital to businesses and individuals, improve financial-market integrity and enhance Nigeria’s international credibility.

He added that every successful prosecution and forfeiture also created a deterrent effect by increasing the cost of engaging in economic and financial crimes.