Wilson Uwujaren: Addressing Poverty, Cybercrime Key To Tackling Corruption In Nigeria

3rd August, 2026 | News

EFCC: Poverty Reduction, Cybercrime Fight and Attitude Change Crucial to Tackling Corruption

EFCC Director of Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, has said tackling poverty, combating cybercrime and changing societal attitudes are essential to addressing corruption in Nigeria.

Speaking on ARISE NEWS, Uwujaren stressed that enforcement alone cannot eliminate corruption, calling for a whole-of-society approach that combines investigations, prosecutions and asset recovery with measures to reduce poverty and address cybercrime, particularly among young people.

He also attributed the EFCC’s reported ₦1.3 trillion in recoveries to institutional and procedural reforms aimed at improving professionalism, case management and operational efficiency. He clarified that recovered funds are categorised as direct and indirect recoveries and said the EFCC does not retain any recovered money.

Uwujaren further warned that Nigerians should look beyond “Yahoo Yahoo”, pointing to rising cases of grand corruption, money laundering and virtual asset fraud. He said the high number of cybercrime cases does not mean the EFCC is neglecting sophisticated corruption cases, noting that major corruption and money-laundering investigations often take significantly longer to prosecute.