Restructuring of EFCC: Olukoyede Appoints Chief of Staff, Zonal Directors

Published

2 years ago

April 28, 2024

The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede has appointed Mr. Michael Nzekwe as his Chief of Staff. He has also appointed Zonal Directors for each of the 14 Zonal Commands of the Commission.

Nzekwe, topnotch investigator, lawyer and former Commander of the Ilorin Zonal Command of the EFCC, is a course one officer of the Commission. He has served in various departments in the Commission, including Legal and Prosecution Department, Department of Operations (now Department of Investigations), Department of Internal Affairs ( now Department of Ethics and Integrity), Servicom, and Asset Forfeiture Department.

A seasoned administrator, he has attended several trainings and courses home and abroad, including the Advance Defence Intelligence Officers Course organised by Defence Intel Agency, DIA. The appointment takes immediate effect and he has assumed duties.

Olukoyede, in his restructuring and repositioning of the EFCC, equally upgraded all the Zonal Commands of the Commission to the status of Departments, with each of them headed by a Director. To this effect, 14 new Directors have been appointed to head each of the Zonal Commands. Additionally, to bolster and fortify the security architecture of the Commission, the Security Unit of the EFCC has been upgraded to a Department with a seasoned officer appointed as Director, Security and Chief Security Officer.

A new Department has also been created in the Executive Chairman’s office and it is headed by former Makurdi Zonal Commander of the EFCC, Mr. Friday Ebelo who also doubles as Director and Coordinator, Special Duties at the corporate headquarters of the Commission. The former Department of Internal Affairs has been renamed Department of Ethics and Integrity and minor reshuffling effected in some Departments at the headquarters.

An important component of the restructuring is the creation of a new Department to drive the Preventive Mandate of the EFCC. Olukoyede, in an unprecedented move, created the Fraud Risk Assessment and Control Department to handle this all- important work of the Commission. The Department has commenced operations and its impact would be felt more across the country in a short while.

Olukoyede says that the ongoing restructuring is meant for the repositioning and strengthening of the EFCC to deliver on its assigned mandate optimally.

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PRESIDENT TINUBU COMMISERATES WITH EX-BAUCHI GOVERNOR, AHMED MUAZU, ON MOTHER’S PASSING

Published

9 hours ago

November 10, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

President Bola Tinubu condoles with his former colleague and ex-Bauchi State governor, Alhaji Ahmed Adamu Muazu, on the passing of his mother, Hajiya Halima Suleiman Dabo Muazu, who is also a former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), served concurrently with President Tinubu as governors of their respective states, Bauchi and Lagos.

President Tinubu says the deceased spent her life performing motherly duties not only for her own children but for many others, near and far.

“Hajiya was a mother to us all. Her prayers and moral support were not only for her immediate children, but to all of us who, in one way or another, came in contact with her. We thank God for her life and for the beautiful way she spent it,” the President says.

President Tinubu prays to Allah to grant her Aljanna Firdaus and grant her family the needed comfort as they mourn their matriarch.

Bayo Onanuga
Special Adviser to the President
(Information and Strategy)
November 10, 2025

Katsina Communities Hold Meeting With Armed Bandits (Photos)

Published

10 hours ago

November 10, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

Armed bandits have held a peace meeting with the Charanci and Batagarawa local governments in Katsina State.

The peace deal was held with armed Fulani groups residing in the forests.

The peace meeting, which took place on Saturday, November 8, 2025, was held in Wurma town of Kurfi Local Government Area in Katsina State.

According to a report, the meeting was attended by the Chairman of Batagarawa Local Government, Hon. Yahaya Lawal Kawo, representatives from Charanci Local Government, traditional rulers, and delegates of the forest-based Fulani community.

The dialogue session reportedly ended on a positive note, as representatives of the Fulani groups pledged to embrace lasting peace and coexist peacefully with neighboring communities.

BREAKING: EFCC Declares Bayelsa Ex-Governor Timipre Sylva Wanted For $14.8million Alleged Fraud

Published

14 hours ago

November 10, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

In a statement on Monday, Dele Oyewale, Head of Media & Publicity for the EFCC, said Sylva is wanted for Conspiracy and Dishonest Conversion of funds that were injected by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) into Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited for the construction of a refinery.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared Timipre Sylva, former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and ex-Governor of Bayelsa State, wanted in connection with an alleged $14,859,257 fraud.

The commission noted that Sylva, 61, hails from Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

The notice follows a November 6, 2025, warrant issued by the Lagos State High Court.

The statement read, “The public is hereby notified that TIMIPRE SYLVA, a former Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, and former Governor of Bayelsa State, whose photograph appears above is wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in an alleged case of Conspiracy and Dishonest Conversion of $14,859,257 – part of funds injected by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) into Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited for the construction of a Refinery.

“Sylva, 61, is from Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. This notice is pursuant to a November 6, 2025 warrant of the Lagos State High Court.

“Anybody with useful information as to his whereabouts should please contact the Commission in its Ibadan, Uyo, Sokoto, Maiduguri, Benin, Makurdi, Kaduna, Ilorin, Enugu, Kano, Lagos, Gombe, Port Harcourt or Abuja offices or through 08093322644; its e-mail address: info@efcc.gov.ng or the nearest Police Station and other security agencies,” Oyewale added.

SaharaReporters had recently exclusively reported how some Nigerian Army personnel raided the Abuja residence of Timipre Sylva, in connection with the alleged coup plot currently under investigation by the DIA.

Multiple security sources had told the newspaper that the army raid occurred at Sylva’s home in the Maitama area of Abuja.

According to insiders, a “special military team” carried out the operation after intelligence linked the “former South-South governor” to secret meetings allegedly held with some of the detained military officers.

“Nigerian Army special team ransacked the home of Timipre Sylva, who is believed to have fled Nigeria,” one top source familiar with the development had told SaharaReporters.

“He is the South-South former governor frequently mentioned in the case. His brother, named Paga, was picked up during the raid. The operation also extended to his Bayelsa residence.”

However, in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media and Public Affairs, Julius Bokoru, Sylva dismissed claims that he fled the country to evade questioning, clarifying that he has been abroad for a routine medical check-up and a professional engagement.

Bokoru added that the former minister’s Abuja home suffered significant damage during the raid, adding that no clear reason or authorisation had been provided by the security personnel involved.

“Despite sustained efforts, I have been unable to ascertain the reasons or authorisation for this raid. The officers did not provide any categorical explanation for their actions, either at the time or subsequently,” he had said.