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 promote integrity among their followers.
Olukoyede made the call on Wednesday in Abuja at the second 2026 Council Meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), where the Anti-Corruption Interfaith Manual for religious leaders was launched.
The EFCC chairman said religious institutions had a crucial role to play in preventing corruption, noting that the influence of pastors and imams in shaping the character of their followers could extend beyond the enforcement powers of the commission.
He said while the EFCC could investigate and prosecute financial crimes, faith communities could help shape the values and attitudes that prevent people from engaging in corrupt practices.
“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,” he said.
Olukoyede stressed that corruption and financial crimes should not be viewed through religious or ethnic identities, as their consequences affect Nigerians across different 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.
He urged pastors and imams to make use of the newly launched manual to educate their congregations and communities on the dangers of corruption and discourage the pursuit of wealth without regard to its source.
According to him, the EFCC has continued to collaborate with Christian and Muslim leaders through its interfaith framework as part of efforts to strengthen preventive measures against corruption.
He added that 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 accompanying facilitators’ guides would assist Christian and Muslim preachers in communicating religious teachings against corruption while promoting peaceful coexistence.
Omonokhua said no nation could prosper in the face of corruption at all levels, adding that religious leaders who engaged in corrupt practices could not claim to uphold the teachings of their faith.
Also speaking at the event, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, who represented President Bola Tinubu, said religious leaders and other stakeholders had important roles to play in addressing insecurity and other challenges confronting the country.
Akume said violence, banditry, kidnapping, communal clashes and terrorism had created fear among Nigerians, including parents who were increasingly reluctant to send their children to school.
He called for greater collaboration among religious leaders, traditional rulers and government authorities to counter narratives that promote division and conflict.
The meeting was attended by the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Rev. Daniel Okoh; the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad 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.
The EFCC has previously identified engagement with faith-based organisations as part of its preventive strategy against corruption, including the development of interfaith materials for Christian and Muslim communities.
