I Rejected N500 Million Gifts at My Mother’s Burial – EFCC Boss Olukoyede Opens Up

I Rejected N500 Million Gifts at My Mother’s Burial – EFCC Boss Olukoyede Opens Up

Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Olanipekun Olukoyede, has revealed that he turned down gifts worth nearly N500 million during his mother’s funeral in 2019.

Olukoyede made this revelation while speaking at the 38th Anti-Corruption Situation Room event held in Abuja, where discussions centered around ethics, integrity, and corruption risks at both national and state levels.

According to him, the offers came in form of cheques, bank drafts, and even cows, all sent by top government officials, including ministers, permanent secretaries, directors, and heads of agencies.

Sharing his experience, Olukoyede said:
"I arrived at my family home in Ekiti for the burial and saw 17 cows waiting for me, including some pregnant ones. My gate man also handed me a carton filled with cheques and drafts from various high-ranking officials.”

He explained that the total value of the gifts was close to half a billion naira. However, he chose to reject them, fully aware that accepting such gifts from individuals under EFCC investigations could later be used against him.

"Imagine if those cheques were deposited into my account, and by chance, any of those agencies or individuals were under investigation by the EFCC. How would I defend myself if a panel raised questions? Integrity means doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.”

Olukoyede also shared how he once blocked his brother-in-law from being appointed as an EFCC auctioneer during his time as the agency’s secretary, to avoid any conflict of interest.

His stance, he said, was later justified when a panel was set up to investigate EFCC activities, including auctions carried out under his supervision.

"If my brother-in-law’s name had appeared in that list, the story today might have been different — I could be sitting in prison instead of addressing this gathering.”