“Not even FBI” – EFCC boss says no agency globally have recovered 753 apartments

The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared that Nigeria is making unprecedented strides in the fight against corruption, citing the recovery of 753 real estate units in a single operation as a record-breaking achievement unmatched by any anti-corruption agency worldwide.

Speaking on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, at the public presentation of a six-year review of Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (TI-CPI) on Nigeria, held at the NAF Conference Centre Suites in Abuja, the EFCC Chairman stated that the agency’s efforts are yielding significant results.

“In the last year, major stakeholders in the anti-corruption fight, including the legislature, executive, and judiciary have made substantial progress. Nobody can deny that,” he stated.

Speaking on the EFCC’s recent achievements, he stressed the scale of their asset recovery efforts, claiming that even globally renowned agencies like the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had not matched the feat.

“I am not sure there is anywhere in the world with a record of a single real estate recovery as massive as what we achieved last year at the EFCC.

“We recovered 753 apartments of various sizes in a single operation. Not even the FBI, not anywhere, not even in America. That was a major leap,” he noted.

In addition to the real estate seizure, the EFCC Chairman disclosed that the agency had carried out a major crackdown, arresting over 790 suspects, including 194 foreign nationals, many of whom were European fraudsters operating in Nigeria.

He assured that the suspects were already facing prosecution, reinforcing the agency’s commitment to holding economic criminals accountable.

While acknowledging Nigeria’s ranking in the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index, the EFCC boss argued that such assessments do not always reflect the full scope of anti-corruption efforts, particularly in the areas of arrests, prosecutions, and asset recoveries.

“TI may not capture that, but we must drum it up because they do not know the extent of our progress,” he said.

He urged stakeholders in the anti-corruption fight to remain focused on strengthening Nigeria’s economic and social structures rather than being discouraged by external rankings.

“For us as Nigerians, the priority should be improving our systems and adding value to our nation rather than worrying about international ratings. If we do the right thing, the world will take notice,” he added.