CHAIRMAN of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ola Olukoyede, says Nigeria’s state governors are diverting billions of naira in monthly security votes to their private accounts in various parts of the world.

Speaking on Friday at an annual lecture of the Forum of Nigerian Air Force Officers’ in Lagos, Mr Olukoyede said governors often converted the funds into foreign currency and moved them abroad through fraudulent Bureau De Change traders, instead of deploying them to boost security in their states.

He said that corruption was the ‘real elephant in the room’ behind Nigeria’s worsening insecurity in Nigeria, citing the ongoing prosecution of a former governor of Anambra, Mr Willie Obiano, who he alleged diverted over N4 billion in security votes.

The EFCC boss said stolen funds meant for security or poverty alleviation were used to fuel banditry, insurgency and extremism in the nation stressing that unless corruption and its foundation were tackled, it would be difficult for the nation to completely defeat insecurity.

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“Billions of naira are collected monthly by state governors as security vots without accountability,” he said.

“These resources, instead of being invested in enhancing the security architecture, often end up in Bureau De Change where they are converted into forex and moved abroad or dissipated into phony investments unrelated to security.

“If that fund was expended judiciously, the security landscape of Anambra and adjoining states would have been better than it is today.”

He said there had been diversions in military procurement, citing the $2.1 billion arms scam, stating that faulty economic models were perpetuating poverty, particularly in northern part of Nigeria.

The EFCC boss referenced cases involving former Nigerian officials, including the alleged theft of over N109 billion by a former accountant-general and stalled power projects that were stifled by bribery allegations and corruption, noting that corruption was a serious issue that must be tackled.

He said the EFCC had recovered N566.3 billion between 2024 and 2025, including achieving a record forfeiture of 753 properties, while supporting economic stability through measures such as cracking down on naira abuse and illicit flows.

He called for greater collaboration between the military, security agencies and the EFCC, noting that the military must embrace greater accountability to restore national stability.

He acknowledged the sacrifices of members of the armed forces in the fight against insurgency in various parts of the country, noting that “we have also found a situation where resources meant for the procurement of equipment in the fight against terrorism find their way into the pockets of some senior officers.”

“This reality was exposed by the EFCC investigation into the infamous $2.1billion arms scam. Humongous sums and property were recovered from a number of senior military officers.

“This resource haemorrhage not only dampens morale within the military establishment but aggravated equipment and logistics challenges that emboldened the adversary.”

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The EFCC Chairman also asked Nigerians to support the anti-graft and insecurity wars, stressing that the EFCC would not win the fight against corruption alone. He added that the military, on its own, would not be able to defeat insecurity alone, noting that collaboration was significant.

“What is required is the support and cooperation of all Nigerians and greater collaboration and synergy among the military, security and law enforcement agencies.

“Financial intelligence is critical to the success of activities in the various theatres of operation of the military and there must be constant engagement at the highest levels of the different agencies to consolidate the gains already recorded.

“The military must embrace greater accountability in all its operations to ensure that the national objective of restoring order and stability in our country is achieved.”