Ola Olukoyede, Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, has claimed that the anti-graft agency tracked N7 billion in suspected money laundering profits to a religious outfit.
He stated that another religious outfit was discovered to be laundering money for terrorists.
The EFCC chairman made the discovery on Wednesday at the Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, during a one-day conversation on “Youth, Religion, and the Fight against Corruption.”
He stated that several religious organizations, institutions, sects, and entities in the country had been shown to be assisting and abetting fraudsters and terrorists.
According to Olukoyede, the EFCC discovered the laundered N7 billion in the bank account of a religious group while investigating a N13 billion fraud.
Though he did not identify the identification of the religious institution, an anti-agency source familiar with the matter informed our correspondent that it was a church.
The EFCC chairman promised that the anti-graft agency will reclaim the funds through the courts.
Olukoyede said,
“We were investigating a N13bn money laundering case when we discovered that N7bn of the N13bn was linked to a religious organisation’s bank account.
“When we approached the religious organisation about it and we were carrying out our investigation, we got a restraining order stopping us from carrying out our investigation.”
Olukoyede, however, said the EFCC would not give up on the investigation as the restraining court order had been appealed.
Meanwhile, the EFCC chairman said the anti-graft agency also uncovered another unnamed religious body laundering money for a terrorist organisation.
“No one will be spared, we’ll probe everyone who is suspected to be committing financial crimes, and these includes members of the executive, legislative, and judiciary arms of government,” Olukoyede added.
He said since his assumption of office as the EFCC chairman about three months ago, the anti-graft agency had secured 747 convictions, mostly cybercrime.
He said the one–day event, tagged “Youth, Religion and the Fight Against Corruption,” was aimed at addressing the challenges of youth involvement in cybercrimes and how religion could be used as a weapon for their reorientation.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, who represented President Bola Tinubu at the event, spoke extensively about the need to curb corruption in government and among the young people.
Other dignitaries present at the dialogue were the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), a former Minister of Power, Babatunde Fashola, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar, the President, Christian Association of Nigeria,Archbishop Daniel Okoh, the Chairperson, Nigeria Committee of Vice Chancellors, Prof. Lilian Salami, and the Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede.