EFCC uncovers religious body laundering money for terrorists, traces N7bn fraud to another

Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, says the anti-graft agency has uncovered a religious sect laundering money for terrorists.

Olukoyede, who made the revelation at dialogue on ‘Youth, Religion, and the Fight against Corruption’, on Wednesday in Abuja, also said N7 billion fraud proceeds was traced to another religious organisation.

He noted that the EFCC had found religious organisations, institutions, sects and bodies culpable of money laundering in the country.

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Olukoyede said one of such religious bodies dragged the Commission to court to protect its leader after laundered money was traced to its bank account.

The EFCC boss said the religious body got a court injunction restraining the Commission from inviting, arresting or prosecuting its leader.

However, Olukoyede did not name the concerned religious organisations.

“We will not give up on recovering the stolen funds,” Olukoyede said.

“It is so sad that as I stand before the eminent audience today, that our experience in fighting corruption has to do with the religious leaders and even traditional rulers.

“As I stand before you there is a matter we are handling of over N30 billion fleeced from Nigeria, and we were able to trace N7 billion to a particular religious body.

“As we wrote a letter to the leader, the next thing we saw was a restraining order, stopping us from inviting them, stopping us from recovering the money.“

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Author

Chinyere Okonkwo

Chinyere Okonkwo is a political reporter covering Nigerian federal and state governance, elections, and the activities of the National Assembly. Based in Abuja, she tracks policy developments, political party dynamics, and the work of oversight institutions such as EFCC and INEC.

Chinyere has covered three general election cycles and reported on constitutional reform debates, security legislation, and the governance challenges facing Nigeria's 36 states. She holds a degree in political science from Ahmadu Bello University.