The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Olanipekun Olukoyede, has revealed how he nearly faced imprisonment during an investigation by the commission.
Speaking on Thursday at an event in Abuja themed *”Ethics, Integrity, Corruption Risk Assessments, and Anti-Corruption at National and Sub-National Levels in Nigeria: Sustaining the Fight Against Corruption,”* Olukoyede recounted the incident that almost landed him in jail.
He explained that the situation arose when he refused to allow his brother-in-law and elder brother to participate in an auction process while serving as EFCC Secretary.
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His decision to uphold ethical standards led to a challenging ordeal, highlighting the personal risks involved in the fight against corruption.
He said, “I was statutorily in charge of management of forfeited assets. With my chairman then, we agreed that we should select a committee. So, we selected assets forfeiture committee comprising about six directors, including myself as the chairman of the committee and a few other staff.
“We advertised for auctioneers. So, they applied. We were able to shortlist about 11 of them. My brother-in-law happens to be an international auctioneer and he also applied. When I saw his application, I shredded it and my PA who knew him informed him about my action. For six months he didn’t talk to me. So we did the auction.
“One of my elder brothers called me that he heard I was doing an auction and needed a draw for his business. I told him to go and read what we published on conflict of interest. No staff of EFCC or immediate members of the family is allowed. He said they will use another name. Of course, they would have helped him. I knew they could do that.”
Olukoyede further stated that eight months later, a panel was established to probe the activities of the EFCC.
“I and my chairman then were placed on suspension. Now they began to investigate what we did in the office. They investigated the particular auction I did in Port Harcourt. Assuming they found the name of my brother-in-law as one of the auctioneers. What could have been the result? Probably I may be in jail by now,” he added.
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