Tunde Bakare
The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede has stated that all actions of the Commission in the cause of its anti-corruption fight are guided by principles of law.
He stated this on Wednesday, April 30, 2025 when he received the management team of Interswitch, led by its chairman, Sir Kenneth Olisa, OBE at the Commission’s corporate headquarters.
“I promised the country upon assumption of office that I will deploy the anti-corruption fight to stimulate the economy and that I will play by the rules. But we observe that at times people won’t just comply unless you apply the force of the law, which we are allowed to do. That’s why we are a law enforcement agency. We are not out to hound people. We are guided by the principles of the law in every action that we take. We follow due process,” he said.
Speaking further, he assured the management of Interswitch of the friendship of the EFCC, so long as the company plays by the rules. “Our mandate makes it important for us to partner with people like you, who are the drivers of the financial sector processes. Rest assured that you will find a friend in the EFCC if you play by the rules and do the right things in your business. Some of the bad ones may want to use your platform to commit fraud. It’s your responsibility to do your due diligence to ensure that if there is anything suspicious, you discover it even before we come in. There are banks in Nigeria that we have not had cause to examine their books, because they play by the rules. And there are others that we scrutinize their books almost every day,” he said.
While suing for more cooperation from Interswitch in the course of the Commission’s financial crimes investigations, EFCC’s Director of Investigation, Abdulkarim Chukkol noted that the Commission’s officers are well-groomed professionals, who are guided by global best practices, but could be agitated in their investigations by lack of cooperation from the necessary quarters. “I want to assure you that our officers are not the kind that harass people. We are thorough professionals. There are times that the information that we seek from you is very vital for us to progress with the investigation. So you could see some desperation that will come along the way. So what we want is more cooperation. I believe that this visit is going to strengthen our working relationship,” he said.
Earlier in his remarks, Olisa praised the Commission for the positive image it is creating for the country through its anti-corruption efforts and the sanitization of the financial space. He assured the Commission of enhanced cooperation from the company, adding that Interswitch would not involve itself in activities that would dent the country’s financial space.