By Joshua Tosin Ogunsakin 
Half of the current 36 state governors -18 – are being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), according to the anti-graft agency’s Chairman, Ola Olukoyede.
Those found wanting will face the law at the end of their tenure, he said.
Olukoyede spoke during a sensitization programme for movie producers, musicians and bureau de change operators, in Lagos on Friday.
The programme was meant to educate the participants on the ills of naira mutilation and abuse.
“As I am talking to you, I am investigating about 18 governors who are still serving. When they leave (office), we will go to the next level,” he said.
He, however, did not name the governors being probed or give further details of the investigation.
Speaking on naira abuse and mutilation, he recalled the case of a former governor who was arrested in the United Kingdom for spraying
pounds at his own (ex-governor’s) birthday party.
The manager of the hotel hosting the birthday party, Olukoyede said, had called in the authorities after seeing the ex-governor spraying £50 and £10 bills.
The suspect, he added, was already under EFCC’s investigation while in office, but fled the country just before the expiration of his tenure, to avoid arrest.
“This governor was investigated while he was in office. Immediately he finished his tenure, the following day, he took off to England to avoid arrest by EFCC,” the EFCC chair said.
“Coincidentally, that week happened to be his birthday. He organised a birthday party in the hotel where he was staying.
“While the party was going on, he started spraying pounds — £50 bills and £10 bills.
“So the manager of the hotel was called. He came down and saw the former governor spraying pounds.
“He had never seen such a thing in his life, so he had to call 911.
“When the Metropolitan Police came, he asked that they should help arrest the former governor.
“The ex-governor was arrested and they wanted to put him in an ambulance.
“The people — his friends, colleagues and two governors — who went to London to celebrate with him had to intervene.
“They said the ex-governor was not a mad man, because the hotel manager thought he was mad.”
Olukoyede sought the cooperation of critical stakeholders from the entertainment industry, media, legal profession and bureau de change operators as well as security agencies with the EFCC in the fight against naira abuse in the country.
“The Naira is a symbol of our sovereignty. How we treat it reflects how much we respect ourselves as a people,” he said.
He particularly condemned the rampant spraying, stamping and mutilation of the Naira at social functions.
He said previous efforts to stamp out the practice have not achieved the desired result.
His words: “Over the past year, the EFCC, in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has intensified enforcement and public awareness campaigns to combat Naira abuse.
“These efforts include the establishment of a Task Force on Dollarisation and Naira Abuse, as well as the prosecution of offenders, including public figures and celebrities.”
He did not agree with those who called money spraying at parties a cultural practice.
He said: “As a salary earner myself, it is unimaginable for me to throw my hard-earned income into the air.
“An offence is an offence, and ignorance of the law is no excuse.
“Being a criminal offence under the CBN Act and the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, Naira abuse imposes a heavy financial burden on the Central Bank, which expends substantial resources replacing defaced or mutilated notes.”
He urged musicians and other entertainers to help in educating their fans on the proper handling of the national currency.
“In every performance, let one of your opening lines be a reminder to your fans that spraying or stamping on the Naira is a crime.
“We must all rise to defend the integrity of our currency,” Olukoyede said.
He said much of the stolen public funds recovered by the agency was being made available to support social investment initiatives of the Federal Government.
Specifically, N100 billion recovered proceeds of crime have been committed to the National Education Loan Fund (NELFund) and the Consumer Credit Scheme (Credicorp).
Recovered assets have also been deployed to fund the skill acquisition centre and liaison office for the NDDC in Bayelsa State while a confiscated property in Kaduna State has been converted to the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia.
Another speaker at the session was the Director General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Isa-Onilu, who described naira abuse as not only unlawful but unethical.
“As citizens, we must embody civic responsibility and national cohesion. Our actions must align with the National Values Charter.
“Values must be our guide in everything we do,” he said.
He added: “The Naira is not confetti. It is not an accessory for prestige. It is a national asset that demands respect.
“When you honour the Naira, you honour Nigeria.”
How Supreme Court strengthened EFCC’s hands in investigating govs
In a landmark judgment on November 15, 2024, the Supreme Court dismissed a suit filed by 19 state governors challenging the constitutionality of the laws establishing the EFCC, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit.
The apex court, in the unanimous judgment read by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, dismissed the suit for lacking merit.
It declared that the laws establishing the anti-corruption agencies were validly enacted by the National Assembly within its legislative competence.
It said that contrary to the claims of the plaintiffs — Kogi, Kebbi, Katsina, Sokoto, Jigawa, Enugu, Oyo, Benue, Anambra, Plateau, Cross River, Ondo, Niger, Edo, Bauchi, Adamawa, Taraba, Ebonyi and Imo states — the EFCC Act derived from a convention, and therefore required no ratification by state assemblies.
“All laws competently enacted by the National Assembly, including those establishing the EFCC and NFIU, are binding on all states.
“States cannot enact competing legislation in areas already legislated by the federal government,” Justice Abba-Aji said.
The court consequently dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims that the investigative powers of the EFCC conflicted with the state legislative authority.
Olukoyede, in his reaction to the ruling at the time, said it had placed the commission in a stronger position to fight economic and financial crimes and other acts of corruption.
He said: “We are more solid now than ever before… 19 governors took us to court. They went to court and the judgment that was given makes us stronger than ever before.
“The Supreme Court Justices gave it to them, reminded them that the Supreme Court has spoken on this matter and given judgment. So why are you wasting your states’ resources on it? Why are you wasting the time of this court by bringing this application to us again?
“Number one, they said that the EFCC has power over federal agencies, state agencies and local government agencies. Number two, they said where the EFCC is working, it has the right to cover the field.
“It is what we call the doctrine of covering the field in Nigeria. It’s a legal doctrine. It’s a principle that says that where a federal agency has covered the field, no state or local government agency has the right to compete with it.
“In other words, wherever the EFCC is operating, state or local government agencies don’t even have the power to meddle.
“So, I have told my men that the ball is in our court, now. You can investigate even a serving governor.
“So, go ahead, investigate their finances and their activities. The only thing you can’t do is prosecute. You have to wait until they leave office when they don’t have immunity anymore.
“They also warned the people who have been using the instrumentality of the state to shield themselves from justice to desist from it.
“The Supreme Court has spoken, and it has a big impact. We are going out to work without any further inhibition.”