Olukoyede disclosed this on Monday during a briefing at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja, where he reviewed the activities and reforms introduced under his leadership.
According to the EFCC chairman, more than five of the dismissed officers are currently facing prosecution, while case files involving others are being prepared for legal action.
“In the past two and a half years or three years of my service, I’ve asked them to dismiss over 40 staff on account of corruption and financial malpractice. More than five of them are being prosecuted at the moment,” Olukoyede said.
He stressed that the commission would not protect its own personnel from prosecution if they were found to have engaged in corrupt practices similar to those the EFCC investigates among members of the public.
He questioned why an officer found guilty of corruption within the agency should only be dismissed when the same conduct would ordinarily attract investigation and prosecution if committed by an outsider.
“Because if that is what people do in other agencies and I arrest them, I investigate them, I prosecute them, why must I just dismiss you if you do it within our own system and I’m not prosecuting you?” he asked.
Olukoyede said some of the affected personnel were already standing trial, while the commission was working on case files against others.
“You can follow those cases in court; they are public knowledge,” he added.
The EFCC chairman also announced the renaming of the former Department of Internal Affairs to the Department of Ethics and Integrity as part of efforts to strengthen accountability within the commission.
He said the change was intended to reflect the agency’s commitment to what he described as “internal cleansing”.
Olukoyede further disclosed that the EFCC had introduced a gift policy for its personnel to promote greater transparency and accountability.
Under the policy, officers would be required to declare gifts above a specified threshold, including those received from relatives abroad.
The commission would also determine the categories of gifts personnel are permitted to accept, according to the chairman.
Olukoyede said the measures were designed to ensure that EFCC officers could properly account for their sources of income, gifts and standard of living.
“You must be sure that your hands are clean. You can’t be fighting corruption when your hands are soiled with corrupt practices,” he said.
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