EFCC urges religious leaders to preach against corruption

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, has urged religious leaders to use their churches and mosques to preach against corruption and help prevent fraudulent practices before they occur.

 

Olukoyede made the call on Wednesday in Abuja at the second 2026 Council Meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council, NIREC, and the launch of the Anti-Corruption Interfaith Manual for religious leaders.

 

He said religious institutions had an “extraordinary responsibility” in the fight against corruption, noting that the influence of pastors and imams could extend beyond the enforcement powers of the EFCC.

 

“The EFCC can investigate a person’s conduct. Faith communities can influence that person’s character. We can prosecute fraud. Religious teaching can cultivate honesty.

 

“We can confiscate illicit wealth. Churches and mosques can challenge the values that make society worship wealth without questioning its source. We can punish corruption after the event. Faith can help prevent it before it begins,” Olukoyede said.

 

The EFCC chairman said corruption should not be viewed through religious or ethnic lines, stressing that its consequences affect Nigerians across faiths and communities.

 

“Financial crime has no religion. Corruption has no tribe. Fraud does not become Christian or Muslim because of the identity of the person accused of committing it,” he said.

 

Olukoyede urged pastors and imams to use the newly launched manual to educate their followers on the consequences of corruption and discourage the pursuit of wealth without questioning its source.

 

He said the EFCC had been working with Christian and Muslim leaders through its interfaith framework to strengthen anti-corruption messages.

 

“We believe that no religion condones corruption and no faith entertains fraudulent engagements,” he said.

 

According to him, the new manual was developed with the participation of leaders from both faiths and contains the doctrinal positions of Christianity and Islam on corruption.

 

The Executive Secretary of NIREC, Prof Cornelius Omonokhua, said the second edition of the anti-corruption preaching and teaching manual was developed through the EFCC’s Interfaith Anti-Corruption Advisory Committee.

 

He said the manual and facilitators’ guides would assist Christian and Muslim preachers in communicating religious teachings against corruption while promoting peaceful coexistence.

 

“No nation can flourish in the face of corruption at all levels,” Omonokhua said, adding that religious leaders involved in corrupt practices could not claim to uphold the teachings of their faith.

 

Also speaking, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, who represented President Bola Tinubu, said religious leaders, traditional rulers and other stakeholders had important roles to play in addressing insecurity and other challenges facing the country.

 

Akume said violence, banditry, kidnapping, communal clashes and terrorism had left many Nigerians afraid, including parents who were becoming reluctant to send their children to school.

 

He called for collaboration among religious leaders, traditional rulers and government to counter narratives capable of promoting division and conflict.

 

The event was attended by the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Rev. Daniel Okoh; the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar; former JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede; the Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli; and the Shehu of Borno, Abubakar Umar El-Kanemi, among others.