Crime
Interpol Applauds EFCC, Its Collaborative Efforts
Interpol Applauds EFCC, Its Collaborative Efforts
Interpol Applauds EFCC, Its Collaborative Efforts. The International Criminal Police Organization, INTERPOL, has commended the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC for its operational effectiveness and collaborative efforts with it in driving activities against national and trans-border financial crimes.
This plaudit was given in Abuja on Wednesday, April 9, 2025 when Interpol top officers, led by Cyril Gout, Executive Director, Police Services, paid a courtesy visit to the EFCC’s Executive Chairman, Ola Olukoyede at the Commission’s corporate headquarters.
Speaking at the occasion, Olaolu Adegbite, Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG and Head, Interpol National Central Bureau observed that the EFCC, Nigerian Police Force and other law enforcement agencies are partners.
“We have been working together, supporting one another and whatever we do at the Nigerian Police Force, specifically from the National Central Bureau, the NCB, we always put EFCC first”, he said.
Adegbite specifically commended the EFCC for its local and global strides, pointing out that “ EFCC is a model for us. The EFCC is an international brand. When you say EFCC, the whole world knows that it projects Nigeria in a very positive way.”
Speaking further, he stated that the EFCC has been pivotal to all the Interpol’s operations. “It is part of Project Agric, Project Water, all our cybercrime projects and Project Serengeti that we just concluded.
In all our projects, we always invite EFCC officers and they’ve been doing amazing jobs, working as a collective to make sure that together, we protect our country. The EFCC is one of the first agencies that the NCB linked to the i247 Network. The i247 Network is the global system of communication for Interpol member countries”, he said.
He appreciated Olukoyede for allowing the participation of EFCC representatives at the Interpol’s Silver Working Group. The Silver Notice was created last year specifically to tackle money laundering. He pleaded that the EFCC continues to utilize Interpol’s tools because they are multi-jurisdictional and transnational”
He disclosed that Mr. Gout was in Nigeria for the handover of the West African Police Information System, WAPIS, to West African regional and national authorities .
The System is a digitized information-sharing network among law enforcement agencies to break criminal activities among the 16 ECOWAS states.
“The WAPIS system is supposed to be domiciled with all our law enforcement agencies where they upload data. Criminal databases are key, especially digitized ones like WAPIS in resolving all forms of crimes,” he said.
He further disclosed that West Africa has the unique challenge of crime dispersal. Criminals migrate across regional borders easily but with WAPIS, crimes such as human trafficking, money laundering, economic crimes, cyber crimes and terrorism can be tackled through robust information amenities among ECOWAS member nations.
Adegbite recalled that the EFCC played a leading role in operationalizing WAPIS right from the onset. “When the WAPIS programme started I think in 2019, the EFCC became the leader of the WAPIS project. It was the agency which provided the largest data upload from Nigeria and it was very reassuring that it did that”.
In his remark, Gout noted that with the handover of WAPIS to Nigerian law enforcement agencies, it has become a national information system. “It’s a Nigerian Information System to collect and share data that are relevant for the nation’s safety and security.
Whatever information that we have, whatever information that we want to cross-check should be contained or shared within this information system. We see the national information system as the only way that we are interconnecting our information sharing and that we are efficient together. So, it is a necessity that we work together,” he said.
Director of Investigation, EFCC, Commander of the EFCC, CE Abdulkarim Chukkol who represented Olukoyede at the occasion, while expressing delight at the visit, noted that the EFCC and INTERPOL have come a long way in synergy and collaboration in multi-dimensional ways that included field operations and human capital development
According to him, since the EFCC was established in 2003 and started operational activities, the INTERPOL has always been a dependable ally. “We’ve done many things with INTERPOL.
We’ve used their tools. It has also enhanced our capacity in many ways. There have been many trainings in which our people benefited. We’ve also done joint operations. I’m also one of the people that have participated in many of those operations both home and abroad.
I would say that the EFCC has actually contributed largely in terms of discovering crime trends, in terms of data, in terms of the analyses that are done. It has also helped in formulating some strategies when it comes to crime prevention, when it comes to how to attack some of these crimes that we are seeing”, he said.
EFCC
Speaking further, Chukkol noted that the scaling up of EFCC activities in the past one year and the globalization of crime trends have made data exchange among law enforcement agencies more compelling.
“You may have noticed that the EFCC has heightened its operations in the past one year or so. In one operation alone, it arrested more than 700 people, including 194 foreign nationals and with the globalization of crime and terrorism today and people moving from one country to another, our work is going to be hindered one way or the other without data exchange. Movement in the ECOWAS sub region is very easy and without visas. So, data sharing is something that will assist us in our work.
The frightening part of it today is that we have seen people coming from other countries, not within the West African region and participating in some of these frauds.
The WAPIS, we believe, is going to do quite a lot for us. We’re going to benefit from it,” he said.
EFCC Arrests Kannywood Star, Samha Inuwa for Alleged Naira Mutilation In Viral Video
EFCC arrests Kannywood Star, Samha Inuwa for alleged naira mutilation in viral video. The Kano Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday, February 3, 2026 arrested a Kannywood Star, Samha Inuwa over alleged Naira mutilation.
Inuwa was arrested following a viral video circulated on social media platforms where she was seen conspicuously cleaning mucus from her nose using Naira notes.
EFCC
Following the release of the viral video, the Commission swung into action by tracing and subsequently arrested her to answer questions.
She is currently being held at the Commission’s detention facility while investigation is ongoing.
The suspect will be charged to court upon conclusion of investigations.
Dele Oyewale
Head, Media & Publicity
February 3, 2026
EFCC Arrests 10 Suspects, Trucks for Suspected Illegal Mining Activities in Kwara
Operatives of the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have arrested ten individuals suspected of involvement in illegal mining activities along the Ilorin – Ogbomosho axis.
They were arrested on Sunday, February 1, 2026, following credible intelligence on unlawful mineral excavation and transportation in parts of Kwara and Oyo States.
The suspects, comprising nine truck drivers and one escort were intercepted and taken into custody in a well -coordinated sting operation. Solid minerals arrested with the suspects include lithium, tin, and lepidolite.
EFCC Arrests 10 Suspects
The suspects have no requisite licences, permits, or regulatory approvals for their mining activities.
Other items recovered from the suspects are trucks loaded with the unlawfully mined materials.
The suspects will be charged to court upon the conclusion of investigations.
List Of 40 Suspects Detained Over Alleged Plot To Overthrow Tinubu Government
List of 40 suspects detained over alleged plot to overthrow Tinubu Government. Nigerian security agencies have concluded investigations into an alleged coup plot to overthrow President Bola Tinubu’s administration, with at least 40 suspects detained in connection with the conspiracy.
The suspects include senior military officers, a police officer, and several civilians accused of roles ranging from reconnaissance and funding to propaganda.
According to a Premium Times report, the arrests followed a covert intelligence operation coordinated by the Army Headquarters and the State Security Service (SSS).
“Thirteen people were apprehended by the SSS, including two military personnel (one retired), one policeman, and ten civilians,” one source said.
In total, 16 serving military officers were detained for direct involvement, while others were linked to funding and incitement. Two civilians were reportedly recruited to incite civil unrest intended to justify the coup.
According to the online newspaper, one of the detained soldiers was said to have escaped custody but was later rearrested by SSS operatives in Bauchi State, according to insider accounts.
Recall that on Monday, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) confirmed that the investigation had been completed and forwarded to “appropriate superior authority in line with extant regulations.”
“Findings identified several officers with allegations of plotting to overthrow the government,” the military said, describing the act as “inconsistent with the ethics, values and professional standards required of members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.”
Sources said authorities are now awaiting presidential approval to constitute a court-martial panel to try the indicted soldiers.
Investigations revealed that the coupists initially planned to disrupt the May 29, 2023 handover ceremony from former President Muhammadu Buhari to President Tinubu, but the plan was shelved due to lack of funds and logistics.
The conspiracy was allegedly reactivated in 2025, after former Bayelsa State Governor Timipre Sylva purportedly transferred nearly ₦1 billion through multiple Bureau De Change accounts to fund the operation.
Sylva and a retired senior officer identified as Major General Adamu, both accused of bankrolling the plot, are reportedly at large.
Security sources said one of the fugitive suspects has been tracked to a South American country, though his precise location remained undisclosed for security reasons.
Investigators also uncovered a chilling plan to assassinate top government officials, including President Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.
“They were waiting for a day when all of them would be in the country. Wherever they were, they would be assassinated,” one source revealed.
The plot allegedly relied on informants inside the Presidential Villa, who monitored the movements of top officials. The conspirators were to seize control of strategic locations such as the Presidential Villa, Niger Barracks, Armed Forces Complex, and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
Military
Hereunder is the full list of the alleged coupists arrested
MA Sadiq (Brigadier General) Army lHeadquarters Garrison
MA Ma’aji (Colonel) Defence Space Administration
S Bappah (Lt. Colonel) 525 Signal Regiment
AA Hayatu (Lt Colonel) 130 Battalion Main, Ogoja, Cross River State
P Dangnap (Lt Colonel) 134 Special Force Battalion
M Almakura (Lt Colonel) 197 Special Force Battalion
AA Jarma (Lt Colonel) CO, 35 Battalion Katsina
SM Gana (Lt Colonel) 115 Task Force Battalion
AD Dauda (Maj) Armed Forces Command and Staff College Jaji
JM GANAKS (Maj) Armed Forces Command and Staff College Jaji
AJ Ibrahim (Maj) Army Headquarters’ Department of Policy and Plans
MM Jiddah (Maj) 26 Battalion
MA Usman (Maj) 35 Battalion
D Yusuf (Maj) Forward Operating Base Molai (AHQ SG)
J Iliyasu (Maj) 3 Division Garrison
A Mohammed (Maj) 63 Brigade Garrison
DB Abdullahi (Lt Cdr) Naval Base Abuja
SB Adamu (Sqn Ldr) National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC)
NG Zuzu (Sqn Ldr) Headquarters, Nigeria Air Force Camp
G Binuga (Captain) 1 NMF Brigade
AA Yusuf (Captain) Nigerian Army of the School of Finance and Administration (NASFA)
1 Bello (Captain) 82 Division Garrison
SS Felix (Lt) 81 Division Provost Group
J Aminu (Lt) Headquarters Directorate of Army Public Relations (DAPR)
Nasiru Ibrahim (WO) 82 Division Garrison
Sanda Usman (Sgt) 167 Special Force Battalion
Mohammed Zubairu (Sgt) 177 Guards Battalion
Momoh Audu (Cpl) 343 Artillery Regiment
Ahmed Ibrahim (Inspector) 24 Police Mobile Force, Presidential Villa
EO Victor (Navy Capt/Rtd) 3 Abraham Avenue off Odili Road, Port Harcourt
Umoru Zekeri Julius Berger, Villa Electrician
Y Nasiru (LCpl) 82 Division Garrison
Sambo Danladi (LCpl) 82 Division Garrison
Abdul Abdullahi (SSgt) 82 Division Garrison
Ali Isah Villa Ambulance Driver
ML Mohammed (Capt) 18 Battalion
UI Yusuf (Wg Cdr) International/Helicopter Flying School, Enugu
IM Gana (Maj Gen Rtd) No 34 A Army Estate, Kubwa, Abuja
Stanley Kingley Amandi Propagandist
Goni Bukar
Security sources confirmed that joint operations involving multiple agencies are underway to dismantle remaining cells and track fleeing suspects. The EFCC and SSS are also interrogating several civilians over alleged roles in funding, logistics, and coordination.
At least 25 military personnel are expected to face trial in connection with the plot, according to sources close to the investigation.
-
Crime9 months agoKogi Assembly Considers Law To Regulate Rent, Establish Control Board: Tenancy Law
-
News10 months agoAtiku Reveals Why He Failed To Pick Wike As Running Mate In 2023
-
Crime12 months agoFederal High Court Jails 2 For Vandalizing Transformer, Telecom Mast In Kogi
-
Akwa Ibom1 year agoThe Apostolic Church Gets New Territorial Chairman, Exco
-
News12 months agoThe Apostolic Church Gets New National President, Executive
-
Akwa Ibom1 year agoUmo Eno Commences Payment Of 80,000 Naira Minimum Wage With Arrears
-
News11 months agoSenator Natasha Returns To Senate With Husband Amid Seat Dispute
-
Economy9 months agoKiyosaki: Is Tinubu’s Government Afraid Of Ibrahim Traore?