The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has taken its anti-corruption fight to churches and mosques, seeking to enlist their support in confronting the culture of wealth without questions. EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede made the call at the second 2026 Council Meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) in Abuja, where the Commission launched a new Anti-Corruption Interfaith Manual for Christian and Muslim religious leaders. The manual aims to help religious leaders promote honest values and challenge attitudes that celebrate wealth without regard to its source.
Olukoyede emphasized that religious institutions have a crucial role to play in preventing corruption before it reaches the point of investigation and prosecution. He noted that while the EFCC can investigate and prosecute corruption cases, faith communities can influence individuals' character and cultivate honesty through religious teachings. The EFCC chairman stressed that corruption and financial crimes do not belong to any particular faith or community, and that their consequences are shared by all Nigerians.
The EFCC chairman highlighted that the problem of corruption cuts across religious and ethnic boundaries. He cited that financial crime has no religion and corruption has no tribe, adding that no religion condones corruption or fraudulent conduct. Olukoyede urged pastors and imams to use their platforms to challenge values that celebrate wealth without regard to its source, saying that this can help prevent corruption.
The EFCC has been engaging Christian and Muslim leaders through an interfaith framework and worked with them to develop the manual, which contains doctrinal positions on corruption drawn from the two faith traditions. The manual is designed to help Christian and Muslim preachers communicate religious teachings on corruption and promote peaceful coexistence. The Executive Secretary of NIREC, Prof. Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua, said the second edition of the Anti-Corruption Preaching and Teaching Manual was produced through the Interfaith Anti-Corruption Advisory Committee of the EFCC.
Omonokhua noted that religious teachers who engage in corrupt practices cannot credibly claim to uphold the teachings of their faith. He added that the manual was intended to address both religious corruption and corruption allegedly justified or encouraged through religious preaching. The meeting brought together senior Christian and Muslim leaders, including the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Rev. Daniel Okoh, and the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar.
Representing President Bola Tinubu, Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume said Nigeria's security and governance challenges required the cooperation of government, religious and community leaders. Akume urged religious leaders to speak collectively against banditry, terrorism, and other criminal activities, saying their voices could help counter narratives that promote division and conflict.
The Federal Government will continue efforts to secure Nigerians and called for greater cooperation among stakeholders in protecting lives, livelihoods, and human dignity. The EFCC's renewed emphasis on religious institutions builds on its earlier use of interfaith engagement as part of its prevention strategy. The Commission has previously described partnerships with faith-based groups as part of efforts to address the attitudes and social norms that sustain corruption.
Key points
- EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede launches Anti-Corruption Interfaith Manual for Christian and Muslim leaders.
- The manual aims to help religious leaders promote honest values and challenge attitudes that celebrate wealth without regard to its source.
- The EFCC seeks to enlist churches and mosques in confronting the culture of wealth without questions.
