Tinubu appoints new EFCC Chairman 4 months after suspending Bawa

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed Ola Olukoyede as the new Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The President also appointed Muhammad Hassan Hammajoda to serve as secretary of the commission.

Olukoyede's appointment was announced on Thursday, October 12, 2023, four months after the suspension of AbdulRasheed Bawa, the immediate Chairman of the anti-graft agency.

Announcing his appointment, the presidency in a statement signed by the President’s Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, reads, “Mr. Olukoyede’s appointment follows the resignation of the suspended Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa.”

Olukoyede, a lawyer, is the first Nigerian from the Southern region to head the EFCC.

During the reign of Ibrahim Magu as acting chairman of the commission, Olukoyede served as secretary of the anti-graft agency for two years following his appointment in November 2018 by former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Before his appointment as secretary, he had served as Magu’s Chief of Staff.

According to Premium Times, he is a certified fraud examiner and has led investigations and civil litigation of fraud as well as financial crimes in International development projects.

Olukoyede had also worked as a lawyer at the law firm of former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo before he joined the EFCC.

In 2020, Buhari suspended Olukoyede along with Magu from office and was never recalled.

Meanwhile, Bawa has now spent four months in the custody of the Department of the State Security Services.