ABUJA, Nigeria (CHATNEWSTV) — Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is facing another scandal after an officer from its Kaduna Zonal Office reportedly fled with over $30,000 and other valuable exhibits.
The officer, identified as Polycarp, vanished during an audit ordered by the zonal director, Benedict Ubi. Insiders said Polycarp excused himself during the inspection and never returned.
“Immediately after the order for the audit was given, he took an excuse to ease himself. Efforts to contact him failed as his telephone lines were switched off,” a source with knowledge of the situation revealed.
This is not the first time the EFCC, Nigeria’s flagship anti-corruption agency, has been embroiled in internal theft. Earlier this year, the commission detained 10 officers in Lagos for allegedly stealing operational items, including gold bars valued at over ₦1 billion ($1.3 million) and over $180,000 in cash.
Despite launching a manhunt for the absconding officer, the EFCC has remained tight-lipped. Calls and messages to EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale went unanswered.
This latest scandal adds to a history of internal misconduct within the agency. In 2019, an EFCC officer at Murtala Mohammed International Airport was caught accepting a $20,000 bribe but was reinstated by then-acting chairman Ibrahim Magu. In 2021, another officer was dismissed after being recorded coaching suspects on evading charges.
The EFCC dismissed 27 officers earlier this month for fraud and misconduct. Although the agency described the dismissal as recent, sources claim the figure reflects cases accumulated since its establishment in 2003.
“The commission has become a shadow of its original mandate,” said a former EFCC official, speaking anonymously. “If the fight against corruption is to succeed, the agency must first clean up its own house.”
