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EFCC Reveals How Public Funds Were Moved From LG Account Into Crypto Wallets
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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has disclosed how public funds were moved from a local government account to a private company before being transferred into cryptocurrency wallets.
The EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, disclosed on Monday while addressing media executives and journalists in Abuja, stressing that the commission could not ignore the suspicious movement of public funds.
Olukoyede, however, did not disclose the local government, company or state involved in the transaction.
He said the commission’s Fraud Risk Assessment and Control Department had detected the suspicious transactions and intervened by freezing the funds for 72 hours to establish their destination and purpose.
Olukoyede, however, expressed his displeasure over people who called for his head as a result of the action taken by his agency.
He said, “When we see money moving suspiciously, we move in and freeze it in the interim. I know some of you are calling for my head. The account was frozen for 72 hours. Okay, come and show where this money is going? Why are you moving money? We saw money being moved from the local government account to a company. Apart from that phase, we discovered that the money has gone into cryptocurrency wallets.
“Is that the road to build? Is that the power to generate cryptocurrency wallets for your people? Are you asking me to close my eyes and not do something like that? Then you don’t need me in this office.”
The EFCC boss said the development underscored the need for law enforcement agencies to shift from waiting for public funds to be stolen before taking action to preventing suspicious transactions from being completed.
“Why must we be waiting for money to be stolen? Why can’t we change the narrative? And that’s the main thing we need to bring to the office,” he said.
The disclosure comes against the backdrop of an outcry earlier in the month after the EFCC froze an account belonging to the Osun State Government, days before the August 15 governorship election.
However, Olukoyede did not link the transaction he cited to Osun State or any other particular state.
Olukoyede also said cybercrime had evolved beyond the traditional perception of “Yahoo Yahoo,” noting that some young people were being used as fronts by public officials to move allegedly stolen funds through cryptocurrency wallets.
He said, “We have gotten to a stage in Nigeria now that public officials steal money and they put it in cryptocurrency wallets.
“Most of the directors we are investigating now, you can’t trace tangible assets to them. They steal this money, give it to students, give it to young people. They open cryptocurrency wallets all over the world. They plunder the money there within 24 hours.
“The money moves abroad. They buy a house anywhere in the world, buy luxury items. Those are the recent trends.”
The EFCC boss also disclosed that the commission had developed the capacity to trace cryptocurrency wallets, particularly those linked to virtual asset platforms registered in Nigeria.
According to him, about 40 virtual asset platforms had been licensed, following regulatory measures introduced to strengthen oversight of the sector.
“Now we also have the capacity to trace cryptocurrency wallets now, at least with those that are registered in Nigeria, and we are doing that,” he said.
Reeling out the achievements of the commission in the last three years, Olukoyede said the commission had also recovered virtual assets in connection with the CBEX fraud, but identified the management of confiscated cryptocurrency as a challenge that had previously created accountability concerns.
“When you recover virtual assets, where do you put them? No accountability. That’s why we can’t continue like this,” he said.
He disclosed that the Federal Government had consequently approved the establishment of a national confiscation wallet where virtual assets recovered by law enforcement agencies would be kept.
“Today, now we have a national confiscation wallet. So if I confiscate virtual assets now, it’s a national wallet that we put into those,” he said.
Olukoyede further warned that the increasing use of cryptocurrency to move illicit funds required stronger technological capacity among financial and law enforcement institutions.
He said, “When we are talking about cybercrime, please cooperate with us, understand the scope. Not just Yahoo. Some of the people you are calling Yahoo, see your young children; they are stealing on behalf of London, on behalf of public servants.”
Olukoyede said the commission’s anti-corruption activities had also contributed significantly to revenue mobilisation, with federal and state tax recoveries amounting to approximately N288.1bn during the period under review.
He said the figure comprised about N173.2bn in federal tax recoveries and N114.9bn attributed to State Internal Revenue Services.
Oluyede also said more than 40 of its personnel were dismissed for alleged corruption and financial malpractice in the past two and a half to three years.
He added that some of the dismissed officials were already facing prosecution, while case files involving others were being prepared for prosecution.
The Nigeria Immigration Service repatriated 99 foreigners for irregular migration between July and August 2026, according to its latest operational report.
The report prepared for the Office of the National Security Adviser showed that 90 foreigners were repatriated in July, while nine others were repatriated in August.
The July figure comprised 33 Cameroonians, 38 nationals of Côte d’Ivoire, 15 Pakistanis, four Nigeriens, four Chadians, two Burkinabè, two Central Africans and one national of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The report identified irregular migration as the primary reason for the repatriations.
It said, “90 foreigners were recorded as repatriated in July, while nine were recorded in August. The cases primarily involved irregular migration, with the July records including nationals of Cameroon (33), Niger (four), Pakistan (15), Côte d’Ivoire (38), Burkina Faso (two), Chad (four), Central African Republic (two) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (one).”
The NIS also reported rescuing 23 victims of trafficking and other forms of exploitation during the period.
Seven victims were rescued in July, while 16 were rescued in August following interventions at locations including the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Seme Border, Baji Patrol Post and other locations.
Some of the rescued victims were handed over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons for further care and investigation.
The immigration authorities also apprehended a stowaway at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in August.
“Seven victims were recorded as rescued in July and 16 in August. The records include interventions at MMIA, Seme Border, Baji Patrol Post, NAIA and other locations, with some victims handed over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons.
“One stowaway was recorded as apprehended at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in August 2026.
“Twenty-three victims were recorded as rescued across July and August. July interventions accounted for seven victims, including cases involving Thailand, Mali, Egypt and domestic locations. August interventions accounted for 16 victims, including cases intercepted at Seme Border, MMIA, NAIA and Baji Patrol Post,” it said.
In addition, four persons of interest were identified during the period, comprising three in July and one in August.
“The August case involved a potential trafficking victim who was referred to NAPTIP,” it added.
The NIS further disclosed that it had dismantled a fraudulent transnational organised crime syndicate linked to the QNET/Ignite group.
The operation, according to the report, led to the apprehension of the syndicate leaders and 11 facilitators in Lagos and Ogun states.
The service said the interventions formed part of its efforts to strengthen border security, regulate migration and combat transnational organised crime.
The report also highlighted the detection of document fraud, enforcement operations, arrests and prosecutions as part of measures taken by the service to safeguard Nigeria’s borders and prevent the exploitation of migrants.
The NIS said its operations during the period were aimed at ensuring effective migration management while contributing to national security.
The National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB) has released results of the 2026 June/July National Business Certificate (NBC) and National Technical Certificate (NTC) examinations.
According to the board, 79,503 candidates, representing 81.24 per cent, obtained five credits and above, including English Language and Mathematics, in the Examinations.
Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of NABTEB, Dr. Aminu Mohammed, announced the results yesterday in Benin at a news conference.
It said the certified craftsmen were among 100,069 candidates that registered for the examinations in 2026, which represented an increase of 7,193 when compared to 92,876 candidates that registered in the 2025 examination cycle.
Mohammed said the increment reflected the growing interest in business and technical education.
He said 97,867 candidates sat for the examinations out of the 100,069 candidates that registered for the examination.
Mohammed said outcome of the examinations was the board’s mandate to promote practical skills. acquisition and occupational competence.
The NABTEB boss said the analysis showed that 79,503 candidates, representing 81.24 per cent, obtained five credits and above, including English Language and Mathematics, in the NBC/NTC Examinations.
He said 89,580 candidates, representing 91.53 per cent, obtained five credits and above, with or without English Language and Mathematics.
According to him, “Comparatively, this performance is significantly higher than that recorded in the May/June 2025 NBC/NTC Examinations, where 61,104 candidates, representing 68.18 per cent, obtained five credits and above including English Language and Mathematics.
“In the same 2025 examination cycle, 74,633 candidates, representing 83.28 per cent, obtained five credits and above, with or without English Language and Mathematics.
“The improvement recorded in the 2026 examination is encouraging and demonstrates the collective effort of candidates, teachers, schools, parents and the wider education system.
“These statistics provide useful indicators of performance; however, beyond the percentages lays the more important question of what these qualifications mean for the future of our young people and for Nigeria’s economic development.”
Dr. Mohammed said the NBC/NTC examinations occupied an important position within Nigeria’s technical and vocational education and training ecosystem.
Despite the Federal Government’s latest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth figures, the organised labour said that the reported expansion had yet to translate into improved economic wellbeing for civil servants, whose purchasing power continues to weaken amid rising petrol prices and high cost of living.
National President, Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), Shehu Mohammed, who spoke in Lagos yesterday, on the state of the economy and workers’ welfare, during the South-West zonal workshop of the association, themed “A Shift from Confrontation to Collaboration,” said the contradiction was evident in the fact that civil servants remained central to economic activity while their earnings were being steadily eroded by inflation and rising living costs.
“We are the engine room. We lubricate the economy. Unfortunately, what we are facing today is that as we are lubricating, we are also drying up,” he said.
He said that the quality of economic growth should not be measured solely by increases in GDP, but whether such growth translates into improved disposable income and purchasing power for workers and households.
According to him, the N70,000 national minimum wage has already lost substantial purchasing power to inflation, even before its full implementation across the country.
The labour leader said this had made the next review of the national minimum wage particularly important, stressing that preparations must begin ahead of the 2027 negotiations.
He said that the organised labour would need credible economic data to support its demands at the negotiating table.
Mohammed warned that further increase of fuel price would deepen hardship..
MEANWHILE, the Federal Workers Forum (FWF) has called on the Federal Government to immediately review the salaries of federal workers, demanding a minimum wage of N300,000 and a maximum salary of N1.5 million for officers on Grade Level 17.
The forum also demanded the full implementation of the N70,000 minimum wage, payment of outstanding wage-related arrears and the introduction of additional welfare measures to cushion the impact of the rising cost of living on federal workers.
National Coordinator of the FWF, Andrew Emelieze, and General Secretary, Ogundele Ayodele, made the demands in a statement yesterday and addressed to the Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, President Bola Tinubu, Chief Justice of Nigeria and Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
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