Ola Olukoyede, The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has appointed Michael Nzekwe as his Chief of Staff.

He also appointed Zonal Directors for each of the 14 Zonal Commands of the Commission as part of the restructuring of the EFCC.

According to Olukoyede, the ongoing restructuring is meant to reposition and strengthen the EFCC so that it can deliver optimally on its assigned mandate.

The anti-graft agency’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, announced the new appointments and changes in a statement on Saturday.

Nzekwe, who he described as a top-notch investigator, lawyer and former Commander of the Ilorin Zonal Command of the EFCC, is a course one officer of the Commission.

He has served in various departments in the Commission, including Legal and Prosecution Department, the Department of Operations (now the Department of Investigations), the Department of Internal Affairs ( the Department of Ethics and Integrity), Servicom, and the Asset Forfeiture Department.

“A seasoned administrator, he has attended several trainings and courses home and abroad, including the Advance Defence Intelligence Officers Course organised by Defence Intel Agency, DIA. The appointment takes immediate effect and he has assumed duties,” the statement added.

In restructuring and repositioning the EFCC, Olukayode upgraded all the Zonal Commands of the commission to the status of departments, with each of them headed by a director.

“To this effect, 14 new Directors have been appointed to head each of the Zonal Commands,” Oyewale wrote in the statement.

“Additionally, to bolster and fortify the security architecture of the commission, the Security Unit of the EFCC has been upgraded to a Department with a seasoned officer appointed as Director, Security and Chief Security Officer.”

Also, a new department has also been created in the Executive Chairman’s office, and it is headed by former Makurdi Zonal Commander of the EFCC, Mr. Friday Ebelo, who also doubles as Director and Coordinator, Special Duties, at the corporate headquarters of the commission.

In addition to that, the former Department of Internal Affairs has been renamed Department of Ethics and Integrity and minor reshuffling effected in some departments at the headquarters.

As part of efforts to improve the value of the naira, operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) attached to the Taskforce on Currency mutilation, Dollarization of the Economy and Forex Malpractice, have arrested 34 suspected currency speculators over alleged foreign exchange fraud.

They were arrested on Friday, April 26, in a sting operation following credible intelligence about illegal sale of dollars at the Wuse Zone 4 area of the FCT, Abuja.

EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, listed the names of those arrested as: Usman Mohammed, Abdullahi Nasir, Abubakar Saleh, Mohammed Kabir Ibrahim, Abubakar Ghadafi, Muktar Usman, Umar Abubakar Abba, Yakubu Sani, Aminu Abubakar, Muhammed Suleman Abara, Yusuf Tahir, Usman Lawal, Usman Lawal, Usman Umar and Amina Garba Rola.

Other suspects as: Muhammed Aliyu, Murtala Haruna, Sani Mohammed, Umar Farouk, Muhammed Sagiuru, Aminu Salisu, Lawal Bello, Munzali Hashim, Jamilu Suleiman, Mustapha Umar, Mubarak Tanimu, Adamu Garba, Mohammed Usman, Bello Musa, Saleh Mohammed Naseer, Zaharadeen Yau, Musa Umaru Adamu, Usman Machido and Abdulaziz Abubakar Abba.

Oyewale said the arrests came on the heels of the EFCC’s consistent efforts to sanitise and stabilise the foreign exchange market.

He said that the suspects would soon be arraigned in court upon conclusion of investigations.

A Kogi State High Court sitting in Lokoja has ordered the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, to appear in court on May 13, 2024, to show cause why an order of committal should not be made against him for allegedly disobeying court order.

The EFCC boss is facing a contempt charge for carrying out “some acts upon which they (the EFCC) have been restrained” by the Court on February 9, 2024, pending the determination of the substantive Originating Motion.

Justice I. A. Jamil, delivering a ruling in Suit No: HCL/68M/2024 and Motion No: HCL/190M/2024, ordered that “the said act was carried out by the Respondent (EFCC) in violation of the order, which was valid and subsisting when they carried out the act. That same act of the Respondent amounts to Contempt.

EFCC operatives had laid siege on the residence of the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, as early as 8 am on April 17, 2024, with a bid to arrest him, despite a court order restraining them from taking such action, pending the determination of the Originating Motion.

Justice Jamil’s order was based on a motion ex-parte filed by Yahaya Bello through his lawyer, M.S. Yusuf, where he prayed to the court for an order to issue and serve the Respondent (EFCC Chairman) with Form 49 Notice to show cause why Order of committal should not be made on Olukoyede.

Having listened to the arguments of the Applicant’s counsel, the submission and the exhibits attached in the Written Address, Justice Jamil granted Yahaya Bello’s prayers and ordered Olukoyede to be summoned to appear before the court to answer the contempt charge.

Delivering his order on the motion on April 25, 2024, Justice Jamil said, “The applicant’s application before me is to the effect that the Respondent has carried out some acts upon which they have been restrained by this Court on the 9th of February, 2024, pending the determination of the substantive motion on Notice before this Court.

“That the said act was carried out by the Respondent in violation of the order which was valid and subsisting when they carried out those acts. That same acts of the Respondent amount to acts of contempt.

“That the Respondent should be summoned to appear before this Court to answer to the contempt charge.

“It’s against the above facts that this Court hereby grants the prayers sought in line with the principle of “Audi Ultra Patem”. To wit:

“An order of this Honourable Court for the issuance of Form 49 Notice to show cause why an order of committal should not be made against the Executive Chairman of the Respondent – Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

“An order for service of Form 49-Notice to show why an order of committal should not be made on the Executive Chairman of the Respondent – Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at EFCC Corporate Headquarters, Plot 301/302, Research and Institution District, Abuja.

“This matter is adjourned to the 13th of May, 2024 for the Respondent’s Chairman to appear before this Court in answer to form 49 ordered to be served on him.”