President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has commended the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for securing over 7,000 convictions and recovering assets worth more than ₦500 billion within the past two years under his administration.
Speaking on Monday at the opening of the seventh edition of a three-day capacity-building workshop for judges and justices, organised by the EFCC in collaboration with the National Judicial Institute (NJI) in Abuja, President Tinubu, represented by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, said the figures reflect his administration’s firm commitment to transparency, accountability, and an independent judiciary.
“The EFCC has recorded over seven thousand convictions in the first two years of my administration and recovered assets in excess of five hundred billion naira,” the president said, noting that recovered proceeds are being channelled into social investment programmes such as the students’ loan and consumer credit schemes.
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He stressed that his administration has maintained a hands-off approach in the operations of anti-graft agencies and the judiciary, allowing both to function independently and in accordance with the Constitution.
“There is no person or group who can accuse this administration of shielding political actors on account of their affiliation to this government or the political party,” he said. “We have allowed both the judiciary and the anti-graft agencies to exercise their constitutional and statutory powers.”
Addressing judicial officers, the president acknowledged public frustration over delays in high-profile corruption cases, urging judges to uphold the integrity and credibility of the judicial process.
“The theme of this year’s workshop, ‘Enhancing Justice in the Fight Against Economic and Financial Crimes,’ comes at a time when there is public concern over delayed adjudication of major corruption cases while cybercrime matters are decided swiftly,” Tinubu said.
He called on judges to uphold the judiciary as “the last sanctuary of our collective conscience,” emphasising that justice remains central to the moral and social fabric of the nation.
“We draw our moral distinction as a people from the judiciary, and we owe it the reverence and autonomy to remain the last sanctuary of our collective conscience,” he added.
On the evolving nature of financial crimes, Tinubu underscored the need for continuous learning among judicial officers to keep pace with modern financial technologies and complex fraud schemes.
“How does one do justice in a cryptocurrency fraud case except one is grounded in such matters? Learning and relearning is no longer a buzz phrase but an essential undertaking for continued relevance in this digital age,” he said.
He urged members of the judiciary and all Nigerians to remain steadfast in the collective fight against corruption, reminding them that “there are no special roads, hospitals, or communities for judges.”
“A Nigeria free of corruption is possible if we all commit to doing what is right in our respective spheres of influence,” the president concluded.
