The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, has urged pastors and imams across Nigeria to use their pulpits and mosques to preach against corruption and help prevent fraudulent practices before they require investigation or prosecution.
Mr Olukoyede made the call on Wednesday in Abuja, at the second 2026 Council Meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council and the launch of the Anti-Corruption Interfaith Manual for religious leaders.
Mr Olukoyede said religious institutions have an “extraordinary responsibility” in Nigeria’s fight against corruption because their influence can shape the character and values of millions of followers.
He explained that while the EFCC investigates and prosecutes financial crimes, religious institutions can help address the attitudes that encourage corruption.
“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.”
He added that churches and mosques could challenge the celebration of unexplained wealth and help prevent corruption before it occurs.
‘Financial crime has no religion’
The EFCC chairman stressed that corruption and financial crimes affect Nigerians regardless of religion or ethnicity.
“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.”
Mr Olukoyede noted that stolen public funds affect both Christians and Muslims, while poor healthcare, collapsed infrastructure, unemployment and inflation do not discriminate between religious communities.
He therefore urged pastors and imams to use the newly launched manual to educate their followers on why corruption is harmful and challenge the pursuit of wealth without questioning its source.
Anti-Corruption interfaith manual
Mr Olukoyede said the EFCC had been working with Christian and Muslim leaders through its interfaith framework to strengthen anti-corruption preaching.
He said the new manual contains the doctrinal positions of Christianity and Islam on corruption and was developed with the participation of leaders from both faiths.
“We believe that no religion condones corruption and no faith entertains fraudulent engagements,” Mr Olukoyede said.
The EFCC chairman encouraged religious leaders to actively engage their members with the material and incorporate anti-corruption messages into their teachings.
NIREC explains purpose of manual
The Executive Secretary of NIREC, Professor Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua, said the second edition of the Anti-Corruption Preaching and Teaching Manual was produced through the Interfaith Anti-Corruption Advisory Committee of the EFCC.
Prof Omonokhua said the manual and accompanying facilitators’ guides were designed to help Christian and Muslim preachers communicate authentic religious teachings against corruption while promoting peaceful coexistence.
He said no nation could flourish in the face of corruption and argued that religious leaders involved in corrupt practices could not credibly claim to uphold the teachings of their faith.
FG seeks religious leaders’ role
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, who represented President Bola Tinubu at the event, also called for greater cooperation between government, religious leaders and other stakeholders in addressing Nigeria’s challenges.
Mr Akume said insecurity, including violence, banditry, kidnapping, communal clashes and terrorism, had left many Nigerians afraid and urged religious leaders and traditional rulers to help counter narratives that promote division and conflict.
The event was attended by prominent Christian and Muslim leaders, including 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.
The EFCC’s initiative places religious institutions at the preventive end of the anti-corruption campaign. Beyond prosecuting financial crimes after they occur, the commission is seeking to use religious teaching to influence attitudes towards honesty, unexplained wealth and fraudulent conduct.
For Nigerians, the approach means churches and mosques are being encouraged to make anti-corruption education part of regular religious teaching, alongside the EFCC’s existing enforcement efforts.
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