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Says Ministers, Top Officials Sent Cheques and Drafts
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Recounts How Ethical Choices Saved Him from Investigation
Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Olanipekun Olukoyede, has revealed that he turned down nearly N500 million in cash gifts from ministers, permanent secretaries, and top government officials during his mother’s funeral in 2019.
Speaking at the 38th Anti-Corruption Situation Room in Abuja, Olukoyede recounted how he discovered a box full of cheques and drafts from high-ranking officials upon arriving at his family home in Ekiti State for the burial.
“When I got home, my gate man presented a carton to me. Inside, I saw so many cheques and drafts from ministers, permanent secretaries, directors, and DGs of agencies. When I put them together, they amounted to almost N500 million,” he recalled.
Avoiding a Scandal
At the time, Olukoyede was serving as EFCC Secretary, a position that involved investigating some of the very people who had sent the gifts. Realizing the ethical implications, he immediately rejected the money.
“I did the burial in September 2019. By July 2020, I was under investigation. Now, imagine if those cheques had been paid into my account. How would I have explained it when they were looking for something to use against me?” he asked.
He stressed that beyond following the law, public officials must hold themselves to the highest ethical standards.
Rejecting Family Influence
Olukoyede also shared how he refused to let family members benefit from an EFCC auction under his watch. He shredded his brother-in-law’s application for auctioneering services and denied his elder brother’s request to purchase forfeited assets, citing conflict of interest rules.
Months later, when a panel investigated his tenure, he realized how those decisions had shielded him from potential corruption allegations.
“Assuming they found my brother-in-law’s name on that auction list, I could have been in jail today,” he noted.
Olukoyede’s revelations offer a rare glimpse into the ethical dilemmas public officials face and the personal sacrifices required to maintain integrity in Nigeria’s fight against corruption.
