Dele Oyewale, spokesperson for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), announced that Nigeria’s Executive Chairman, Olanipekun Olukoyede, has disclosed that over $88.6 billion is lost to illicit financial flows in Africa annually. Olukoyede emphasized the grave challenge posed by Illicit Financial Flows to Africa’s economic stability and development, highlighting the loss of funds that could otherwise be directed towards critical infrastructure, healthcare, and education. He shared notable success stories, such as Nigeria’s repatriation of $311 million of Abacha loot from the United States in 2020, which was achieved through collaboration with international partners and allocated to vital infrastructure projects.

Olukoyede also incorporated outcomes from a high-level technical stakeholders meeting in Addis Ababa, organized by the African Union Advisory Board against Corruption (AUABC) and the African Union Commission – Political Affairs, Peace and Security Department (AUC-PAPS) in collaboration with the GIZ Global Program on Illicit Financial Flows (GP-IFF).

He called for the strengthening of legal and institutional frameworks across African countries to better combat IFFs, as well as the use of advanced technologies such as data analytics, blockchain, and artificial intelligence to improve asset tracking and recovery efforts. He also called for continuous advocacy and international pressure to ensure cooperation from tax havens and low-tax jurisdictions, emphasizing the importance of stopping resources from leaving Africa in the first place.