EFCC offers whistleblowers 5% reward to uncover stolen Nigerian assets abroad

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has called on whistleblowers with information on Nigerian assets allegedly stolen and moved abroad to come forward, offering rewards of between 2.5% and 5% of recovered assets.

The EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, disclosed this on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, while delivering a lecture at the 43rd Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime in the United Kingdom.

Olukoyede said individuals with credible information on the location of monetary and non-monetary assets taken abroad by corrupt Nigerians could assist the commission in recovering them and benefit financially from the recoveries.

What they are saying

Olukoyede said whistleblowers who provide information that leads to the recovery of Nigerian assets hidden anywhere in the world could receive between 2.5% and 5% of the recovered value.

• “I welcome all of you to the world of whistleblowing. If any one of you is privy to where Nigerian assets are stolen or taken to anywhere in the world, we have an incentive for you; between 2.5% and 5%, it’s going to go back to you upon recovery.”

He explained that the financial incentive was intended to encourage people with information on stolen assets to report to the authorities, noting that a successful tip could potentially result in a substantial financial reward.

Olukoyede added that some whistleblowers could become millionaires if information they provide results in significant asset recoveries.

• “That is an incentive we have put in place to encourage people to come forward to give information about stolen assets. You never tell if you give any information here, some of you may leave this place a multi-millionaire in your lifetime”, he said.

Get up to speed

The EFCC’s latest whistleblower offer is not the first time the Nigerian government has deployed financial incentives to encourage citizens to provide information leading to the recovery of stolen funds.

• In 2017, under the Federal Government’s whistleblower policy introduced in December 2016, informants whose information led to the recovery of stolen funds were entitled to rewards based on the value of the recovery.

Under the framework, a recovery of up to N1 billion attracted a 5% reward.

• For recoveries between N1 billion and N5 billion, the whistleblower would receive 5% of the first N1 billion and 4% of the remaining N4 billion.
• For recoveries above N5 billion, the reward would be calculated at 5% of the first N1 billion, 4% of the next N4 billion and 2.5% of the balance above N5 billion.

The whistleblower policy, however, later became a source of controversy, particularly around the protection and treatment of people who supplied information to the government.

The reward system has also been applied beyond the recovery of stolen public funds.

• In 2024, the EFCC announced a 5% reward for whistleblowers who provide credible information that leads to the prosecution of people involved in the abuse of the Nigerian currency. The commission said the reward was intended to encourage members of the public to report cases such as naira spraying.

What you should know

Olukoyede said the EFCC has forfeited cash and assets worth more than $500 million to the Nigerian government since he assumed office less than three years ago. He attributed the recoveries to the work of investigators, the judiciary and access to credible intelligence.

• Nairametrics have reported several high-profile recoveries made by EFCC this year, including that the Supreme Court in July 2026 restored the forfeiture of properties linked to former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, located in Lekki and Ikoyi in Lagos, as well as Agbor in Delta State, returning them to the Federal Government.
• Also, on July 15, it was reported that a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the final forfeiture of 48 properties linked to former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami to the Federal Government. The properties, which the EFCC alleged were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities, included residential, commercial and other high-value assets.
• The EFCC’s recovery drive has also produced substantial cash recoveries. In October 2025, Nairametrics reported that the commission’s annual performance report showed it recovered N364.5 billion, $326.5 million, other foreign currencies and assets in one year, while securing 4,111 convictions across various courts.

The scale of the recoveries has also made recovered funds an increasingly important source of government financing.

Last week, President Bola Tinubu directed that legally cleared and unencumbered liquid funds recovered by the EFCC be channelled to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) to strengthen funding for the Federal Government’s student loan programme. The directive also covered unclaimed dividends from the Capital Market Trust Fund and the Dormant Account Trust Fund, subject to the legal processes governing those funds.