How EFCC can end corruption — Senator

Vice Chairman of the South East Constitution Review Committee, Senator Onyekachi Nwaebonyi, has expressed confidence that Nigeria could witness the complete eradication of corruption in the public sector if the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission sustains its current pace and efficiency.

Speaking in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Wednesday, Nwaebonyi commended the EFCC Chairman and his team for transforming the agency from what he described as a “media trial agency” into one producing tangible results.

“You remember that before now, EFCC was doing more of a media trial without achieving much results. But you can see within these two years plus, EFCC has secured a lot of convictions, showing that they are working. And I believe that if they continue in this way, then very soon corruption will be completely eradicated in our public system,” he said.

He further emphasised that the EFCC operates with a reasonable level of independence and urged the agency to periodically brief Nigerians on high-profile cases, including those where investigations yield no substantial evidence.

Law is a game, governed by rules and facts. So if somebody brings up a petition that so and so politician has embezzled a certain amount, it is left for the EFCC or any other agency doing the investigation to investigate, to know whether that allegation is true or not. EFCC is doing a good job. We are not dictating for them. They are a bit independent in their investigation,” Nwaebonyi said.

He added that transparent updates on cases with no prima facie evidence would help prevent the perception that all politicians are corrupt.

“Most of these high-profile cases that have no prima facie case against such individuals should be made public, so that Nigerians will not say all politicians are thieves, because not all politicians are thieves. We still have good leaders who are out to set things right for the development of this country,” he concluded.

recalls that on October 16, 2025, the presidency commended EFCC what it described as an outstanding transformation since its inception, lauding the agency’s growth into a leading anti-corruption institution.

The Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination and Head of the Central Results Delivery Coordination Unit, Hadiza Bala Usman, gave the commendation when she led a delegation to present the Performance Charter of the Commission to the EFCC Executive Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja.

“You should all be proud of yourselves, seeing your trajectory,” Usman said. “Some of us have been observing the EFCC journey for a long time, and I just want to say that collectively your staff and the organisation should be very proud of what has been built in these years. Every day you visit EFCC, you see how it has improved. I’m not sure there’s any organisation that has grown the way the EFCC has grown from 2000 to date.”