By Anifa Oluwapelumi
The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has urged Nigerians with credible information about stolen assets to come forward, promising financial rewards for information that leads to successful recovery.
Olukoyede said whistleblowers could receive between 2.5 per cent and 5 per cent of assets recovered as a result of information they provide to the commission.
The EFCC chairman made the disclosure while highlighting the importance of public cooperation in the fight against financial crimes and the recovery of funds and properties allegedly taken from Nigeria.
According to him, individuals who know where stolen Nigerian assets are hidden or where persons wanted in connection with financial crimes are staying—whether within Nigeria or abroad—should provide such information to the commission.
He stressed that useful information must be credible and actionable, particularly where it can assist investigators in tracing, identifying and recovering assets linked to financial crimes.
Olukoyede also assured potential whistleblowers that the commission would provide protection, encouraging Nigerians who possess relevant information not to remain silent.
The incentive, he explained, is intended to encourage greater public participation in the recovery of assets believed to have been taken through fraudulent or corrupt activities.
His appeal comes amid continued efforts by the EFCC to trace illicit funds and assets both within Nigeria and across international jurisdictions.
Olukoyede urged Nigerians with genuine information to speak up, stressing that recovering stolen national resources requires cooperation between law-enforcement agencies and members of the public.
The EFCC chairman's message effectively puts a price on information that can help bring Nigeria's missing wealth back home: credible information that leads to recovery could earn a whistleblower up to five per cent of the recovered assets.
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