RismadarVoice Reporters
January 7, 2026
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has raised the alarm over what it described as planned campaigns of calumny by politicians and interest groups seeking to undermine its anti-corruption mandate.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Commission said politicians and groups with vested interests in suspects currently under investigation or prosecution have recruited paid agents to launch coordinated media attacks against the EFCC and its Chairman, Ola Olukoyede.
According to the Commission, the group comprises “a motley crowd of paid jobbers including politicians, academics, so-called civil society activists, and some Nigerian fugitives in the diaspora,” who have allegedly been mobilized to peddle unfounded allegations of political bias against the Commission.
The EFCC said the objective of the campaign is to distract, intimidate, and pressure the Commission into retreating from investigating certain political actors, particularly opposition politicians, under the guise of claims of partisanship.
“Their objective is to befuddle the works of the Commission and, through scaremongering, intimidate it into a timid mode, where it will be afraid to investigate opposition politicians for fear of being labelled as partisan,” the statement said.
The Commission warned that the campaign is expected to intensify as the country approaches the 2027 general elections, noting that it is already monitoring the activities of those involved.
“The Commission wishes to put those recruited into this ignoble enterprise on notice that their activities are under close watch, and it will not tolerate any attempt to distract it from the patriotic task of improving public accountability in Nigeria,” the EFCC stated.
Reaffirming its non-partisan posture, the anti-graft agency stressed that its operations are guided strictly by law and facts, not political affiliations.
“Facts on the ground clearly show that any political actor, whether from the ruling party or opposition party, with corruption baggage, has no hiding place from the operational radar of the Commission,” it said, adding that members of both ruling and opposition parties are currently facing trial or investigation.
The EFCC further clarified that references to the constitutional presumption of innocence in its public communications should not be misconstrued as a defence of any individual.
“Commentaries about presumption of innocence of a defendant in court are in line with constitutional provisions, not intended as a defence of any individual or group,” the Commission explained.
The anti-graft agency also dismissed claims of affiliation with any political party, describing such allegations as baseless.
The statement concluded with a firm assurance that the EFCC would not succumb to pressure or blackmail to disclose details of ongoing investigations involving politically exposed persons.
“The Commission reiterates its commitment to justice, without fear or favour, in the fulfilment of its mandate,” it said.
