Picking and arrest of the public office holders ,most especially,the sitting governors have taken a new dimension as the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, disclosed that the anti-graft agency is currently investigating 18 serving governors across the country and mapped out new strategy before they leave office.
Olukoyede made the revelation on Friday in Lagos during a sensitisation programme focused on curbing the abuse and mutilation of the naira.
According to him, while the investigations are ongoing, further prosecutorial steps will be taken once the governors leave office and are no longer shielded by constitutional immunity.
“As I’m talking to you, I’m investigating about 18 governors who are still serving. When they leave office, we will go to the next level,” he stated.
He emphasized that the EFCC does not always wait for public officials to complete their tenure before probing them. He explained of a specific case involving a former governor in Nigeria who fled the country immediately after leaving office to avoid arrest.
“This governor was investigated while he was still in office. Immediately after his tenure ended, he flew to England to evade EFCC arrest,” he recounted.
Olukoyede said the ex-governor, while celebrating his birthday at a UK hotel, began spraying £50 and £10 notes in the presence of guests, prompting the hotel manager to call emergency services of the police.
“The hotel manager had never seen anything like it. He thought the man was mentally unstable and called 911,” he said.
He added that the Metropolitan Police responded and nearly placed the former governor in an ambulance, but he was rescued by fellow Nigerians — including two serving governors — who intervened and explained he was not insane.
Olukoyede emphasized the commission’s readiness to hold all public officials accountable, regardless of their status, in its fight against corruption. He, however, did not reveal the names of the governors currently under investigation.
