By RismadarVoice Reporters,December 9, 2025
In a move – signalling tighter security oversight and stronger inter-agency cooperation, the Nigerian Army and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have entered a renewed partnership to intensify the fight against corruption, illegal financial flows and economic sabotage in Edo State.
Commander of the 4 Brigade, Nigerian Army – Brigadier General A. O. Balogun, made the commitment on Monday, December 8, 2025, during a courtesy visit to the EFCC’s Benin Zonal Directorate, his first since assuming command in Benin City.
General Balogun declared that the EFCC remains Nigeria’s “foremost anti-corruption agency,” stressing that no serious national security framework can succeed without backing its efforts to track illicit funds and dismantle criminal network.
The General’s remarks underscores a growing recognition within Nigeria’s defence architecture that economic crimes now pose as much threat to national stability as armed conflict.
He noted that the military and the EFCC already share a long-standing cooperation, from joint training to suppressing illegal oil bunkering, one of the most lucrative criminal enterprises undermining the Nigerian economy.
In his words: “It is not about competition, it is about collaboration. It doesn’t matter who kills the snake, as much as the snake is killed.”
Balogun emphasized that the Army stands ready to provide operational, intelligence or logistical support whenever the EFCC requires it.
Responding, Acting Benin Zonal Director of the EFCC, Deputy Commander Sa’ad Hanafi Sa’ad, praised the Army’s visit as both strategic and patriotic, describing the military as a “critical stakeholder” in the war against corruption.
“No single institution can effectively eliminate crimes and criminality,” he said. “The Nigerian Army and the EFCC share the same interest, a better Nigeria. We are willing to collaborate with you.”
Security watchers say the latest move could tighten the noose around network involved in money laundering, cybercrime, illegal mining, oil theft and public-sector corruption, especially in Edo, a state with key economic and strategic corridors.
With the Army leaning further into financial-crime detection and the EFCC gaining deeper on-ground intelligence, experts predict a stronger, more coordinated assault on Nigeria’s entrenched graft ecosystem.
Whether this alliance will translate into major breakthroughs, it remain to be seen.
However, Monday’s visit signals a renewed resolve: the fight against corruption is no longer the EFCC’s battle alone.
