Keypoints:
- Whistleblowers may earn up to 5 percent
- EFCC targets Nigerian assets hidden overseas
- Reward builds on an existing federal policy
NIGERIA’S anti-corruption agency has stepped up its global hunt for stolen public wealth, offering whistleblowers the prospect of receiving as much as five percent of recovered assets for credible information that helps investigators trace money and property hidden overseas.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s appeal puts fresh international attention on Nigeria’s existing whistleblower reward system rather than creating a new incentive. The renewed push comes as Abuja seeks stronger intelligence and cross-border cooperation to recover suspected proceeds of corruption moved beyond the country’s reach.
Reward for credible intelligence
EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede issued the call on August 26 while addressing the 43rd Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime in Britain.
The eight-day symposium at Jesus College, Cambridge, is focused this year on ‘Asset Recovery and the Rule of Law’, bringing together prosecutors, investigators, judges and financial-crime specialists from around the world.
Olukoyede told participants that anyone with actionable information about Nigerian assets taken abroad could approach the commission.
He said people whose intelligence contributes to successful recovery could receive between 2.5 percent and five percent of the assets recovered.
The offer is intended to widen the pool of credible intelligence available to investigators seeking to trace illicit Nigerian wealth across borders.
Reward policy already exists
The financial incentive itself predates Olukoyede’s Cambridge appeal.
Nigeria’s official Federal Ministry of Finance whistleblower portal states that a person whose information directly leads to the voluntary return of stolen or concealed public funds or assets may be entitled to between 2.5 percent and five percent of the amount recovered.
There are conditions.
The information must not already be in the government’s possession or readily obtainable from a publicly available source, while any eventual recovery must be directly linked to the whistleblower’s disclosure.
The official portal also provides channels for reporting alleged harassment, intimidation or victimisation arising from whistleblowing.
Olukoyede’s intervention therefore takes an existing Nigerian whistleblower incentive to a global audience, openly inviting people with knowledge of public assets hidden overseas to provide actionable intelligence to the EFCC.
EFCC claims $500m recovery haul
The EFCC chairman also used the Cambridge platform to highlight the commission’s recent asset-recovery record.
He said the agency had secured the forfeiture of cash and assets worth more than $500m during his tenure, attributing the results to stronger investigations, judicial support and better access to intelligence.
Asset forfeiture has become an increasingly prominent part of Nigeria’s anti-corruption strategy.
Africa Briefing previously reported on the historic forfeiture of a sprawling Abuja estate, one of the largest property recoveries secured by the agency.
More recently, a Federal High Court ordered the forfeiture of 48 properties linked to former attorney-general Abubakar Malami. That civil asset-recovery process remains distinct from separate criminal proceedings in which Malami has pleaded not guilty.
Nigeria has also pursued assets connected to corruption investigations beyond its borders, including long-running cases involving former petroleum minister Diezani Alison-Madueke.
Cross-border recovery is the test
Offering a percentage of recovered wealth could encourage more people with insider knowledge to come forward, particularly where assets have been concealed through overseas property, companies, bank accounts or intermediaries.
But identifying suspected stolen wealth is only the beginning.
Cross-border recovery can require cooperation from foreign courts, financial intelligence agencies and law-enforcement authorities before assets can be frozen, forfeited and ultimately returned.
The effectiveness of Nigeria’s renewed whistleblower push will therefore be measured not by the number of leads received, but by how much hidden public wealth those leads eventually help bring home.
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