By Luminous Jannamike

ABUJA – The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ola Olukoyede, has revealed how a public officer declared a non-existent property worth over N3 billion in a Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) form to mask plans to steal public funds.

He made the disclosure at the launch of the Virtual Tool on the Code of Conduct for Public Officers, organised by the CCB in collaboration with the Technical Unit on Good Governance and Anti-Corruption Reforms (TUGAR) in Abuja.

Other speakers at the event included the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi; the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Esther Walson-Jack; and the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), Abdullahi Usman Bello.

They all emphasised the importance of ethics, transparency, and the use of technology in tackling corruption.

Olukoyede described the fraudulent practice of ‘anticipatory asset declaration’, where public officers list assets they do not yet own to justify future illicit wealth.

He cited a case in which a politically exposed person declared a property worth over N3 billion, but EFCC investigations found the property did not exist at the time.

“I asked my boys to get the CCB form because there was something we were not clear about, and we discovered one of the very big properties valued over N3 billion that the person declared in the CCB form carried an address different from the address of the location of the property. I felt something was awry here. We decided to dig further, and after more interrogation, we discovered that the person declared the property when the property was not in existence,” Olukoyede explained.

He urged the CCB to step up investigations using innovative methods.

“There is an investigation we carried out, and we discovered something not too strange that proves how criminally smart some of our politically exposed persons carry out some of the various activities we investigate them for,” he added.

Prince Lateef Fagbemi hailed the virtual tool as a milestone in digitising public conduct oversight.

“The bedrock of public service is adherence to standards and ethics of service. This virtual tool will promote preventive compliance and awareness,” he said.

Mrs Didi Esther Walson-Jack emphasised technology’s role in promoting ethical governance.

“We must leverage technology to solve problems. It is faster, smarter, and more transparent. Without conduct and ethics, no reform will last. Ethical governance is not optional. The benefit of this tool is that it is accessible, easy to use, cost-effective, and promotes transparency that enables tracking and compliance,” she said.

CCB Chairman Abdullahi Usman Bello said the platform would strengthen accountability and educate public officers.

“The tool will ensure that public servants carry out their duties in high esteem and educate them on the step-by-step rules and regulations that guide them,” he stated.