The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, was established by an Act of the National Assembly on 12th December, 2002 by the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo. Following the appointment and confirmation by the Senate, of the pioneer Executive Chairman, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu and other administrative officers, the operational activities of the Commission commenced on April 13, 2003.
The establishment of the Commission was partly in response to pressure from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Money Laundering, also known by its French name, Grouped'actionfinancière (GAFI).
GAFI is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 (Group of Seven), an inter-governmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America to develop policies to combat money laundering.
FATF had ranked Nigeria as one of the 23 countries that were non-cooperative in the combined efforts to fight money laundering globally. Due to identified inadequacies in the 2002 Establishment Act, the national Assembly repealed it and re-enacted the 2004 Establishment Act was signed into law on 4th June 2004 by President Obasanjo.
Mallam Ribadu, the pioneer chairman of the EFCC, was handed the monumental task to midwife the agency. Within a few months of its emergence on the scene, the Commission had forced itself into public consciousness having taken out of circulation all the 419 kingpins (419 in Nigerian parlance, means offenders whose crimes are contrary to Section 419 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended). These where people hitherto considered untouchable. The Fred Ajuduas, the Emmanuel Nwudes, the Maurice Ibekwes, the Ade Bendels, the AmakaAnajembas and the NzeribeOkolis among many others were all arrested and prosecuted.
During his term, outside of the headquarters located in Abuja, the Lagos, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Kano and Gombe Commands were established each representing the geo-political zones of the country, for ease of operation.
In December 2007, Ibrahim Lamorde, DIG, Retd took over the affairs of the Commission in acting capacity and in January 2008 Mrs. Farida Waziri, AIG Retd, was appointed by President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua as the Chairperson of the Commission. Lamorde handed over to Waziri on June 6, 2008 following her clearance and confirmation by the Senate in June 2008.
Following his appointment by President Goodluck Jonathan, Lamorde took over from Mrs. Waziri on November 23, 2011 in acting capacity. He was confirmed as substantive Chairman of the EFCC on February 15, 2012. On November 9, 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari replaced Lamorde with Ibrahim Magu as the acting EFCC chairman.
In about five years at the helms of affairs, Magu established seven Commands and reopened the Maiduguri office earlier opened by Mrs. Farida but closed due to the activities of Boko Haram in the North East. The seven Commands were: Ibadan, Kaduna, Benin, Makurdi, Sokoto, Ilorin and Uyo.
Mohammed Umar Abba, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), on July 9, 2020 took over the affairs of the Commission on interim basis. Seven months after, on February 24, 2021, the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria confirmed Abdulrasheed Bawa, CFE, CAMS, whose name was submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari as the substantive Executive Chairman of the Commission. Bawa took over from Umar Abba on 5th March, 2021.
“Following Wednesday, June 14, 2023, suspension of Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa, as Executive Chairman by the Federal Government, Mr. Abdulkarim Chukkol stepped in as Acting Chairman of the Commission. Until this new role, Chukkol was the Director of Operations of the Commission.”
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on October 12, 2023, approved the appointment of Mr. Ola Olukoyede as the Executive Chairman of the Commission and he was confirmed by the Senate on Wednesday, October 18, 2023. Olukoyede assumed office on Thursday, October 19, 2023 with clear-cut agenda of re-positioning and re-focusing the Commission for optimal effectiveness.