The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has raised the alarm over what it described as a planned campaign of calumny by politicians and interest groups seeking to frustrate its investigations and prosecutions.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, January 7, the anti-graft agency warned that individuals with vested interests in suspects currently being investigated or prosecuted by the Commission were sponsoring media attacks against the EFCC and its Chairman, Ola Olukoyede.
According to the Commission, a “motley crowd of paid jobbers” made up of politicians, academics, self-styled civil society activists and some Nigerian fugitives in the diaspora had allegedly been recruited to orchestrate smear campaigns.
The EFCC said the attacks were aimed at portraying the Commission as politically biased through what it described as phantom allegations.
“These disgruntled elements have recruited paid jobbers to orchestrate campaigns of calumny through sponsored media attacks targeting the Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, and the institution itself,” the statement read.
The Commission said the ultimate aim of the campaign was to distract and intimidate it into abandoning investigations, particularly those involving opposition politicians.
According to the EFCC, the strategy is to “befuddle the works of the Commission and, through scaremongering, intimidate the Commission into a timid mode, where it will be afraid to investigate opposition politicians for fear of being labelled as partisan.”
Naijaonpoint reports that the agency warned that the campaign was likely to intensify as the political atmosphere becomes increasingly charged ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The EFCC put those involved in the alleged smear campaign on notice, saying their activities were under close surveillance.
It stressed that it would not tolerate any attempt to distract it from what it described as its patriotic duty of promoting accountability in public life.
“The Commission will not tolerate any attempt to distract it from the patriotic task of improving public accountability in Nigeria,” it stated.
Reiterating its non-political stance, the EFCC said its operations are guided strictly by its Establishment Act and the Constitution.
The Commission noted that its track record showed that political affiliation offered no shield from investigation or prosecution.
“Facts on the ground clearly show that any political actor belonging to the ruling party or opposition party, with corruption baggage, has no hiding place from the operational radar of the Commission,” the statement said.
It added that several prominent members of both the ruling and opposition parties were currently facing trial or under investigation.
‘No Alliance With Any Party’ – EFCC Insists
The anti-graft agency also dismissed claims that it was aligned with any political party, insisting that it maintained no alliance or working relationship with any political organisation.
It clarified that public commentaries on the presumption of innocence of defendants were in line with constitutional provisions and should not be misconstrued as a defence of any individual or group.
The EFCC further warned that it would not be pressured or blackmailed into making public disclosures about politically exposed persons under investigation.
“The EFCC will not be pressured or blackmailed into making public disclosures of politically exposed persons being investigated for one alleged corruption case or the other,” it stated.
The agency concluded by reaffirming its commitment to justice, stressing that it would continue to carry out its mandate “without fear or favour,” regardless of political pressure or blackmail.