EFCC chair warns corps members against get-rich-quick schemes, cybercrime

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has warned corps members against internet fraud, corruption and other shortcuts to wealth, urging them to embrace integrity and become whistleblowers.

Olukoyede gave the charge while addressing members of the 2026 Batch C, Stream 1 of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) at orientation camps across the country.

Speaking through EFCC officials at the various camps, the anti-graft agency chairman described the get-rich-quick syndrome among young Nigerians as a culture of compromise that could undermine their future.

“It is a syndrome of compromise. Avoid it. Move away from it and seek to be a value-adding youth in every realm,” he said.

Olukoyede urged corps members to reject cybercrime and other corrupt practices, saying there were legitimate alternatives through which young Nigerians could use technology and innovation to build successful careers.

He challenged them to become what he described as “new breed youths” who are committed to transparency, accountability, hard work and national development.

“A new breed youth is hungry for new results, angry with compromises and zealous for transparency,” he said.

He urged corps members to interrogate their environments, expose corrupt practices and avoid what he called the “line of least resistance”.

At the NYSC orientation camp in Ilorin, Kwara State, Olukoyede said corruption, moral decline and mismanagement of public resources had contributed to Nigeria’s developmental challenges.

He urged the corps members to learn from the failures of the past and contribute to a better future through integrity, innovation, patriotism and responsible citizenship.

In Keffi, Nasarawa State, the EFCC chairman described corruption as a threat to the future of young Nigerians and urged corps members to take responsibility for protecting the country from the menace.

He also advised them to avoid activities capable of jeopardising their future and Nigeria’s development.

Olukoyede further called on corps members to act as whistleblowers by reporting suspicious activities and corrupt practices in their communities.

He said the EFCC was relying on young Nigerians to expose shady dealings and encouraged them to use the agency’s Eagle App to submit reports.

“Exposing corrupt practices around you is not only obligatory; it is also patriotic,” he said.

According to him, the digital platform allows whistleblowers to submit corruption reports, upload images and make complaints anonymously.

The EFCC chairman’s message was also delivered to corps members in Abuja, Maiduguri, Uyo, Ibadan, Gombe, Kano, Makurdi, Port Harcourt, Awka, Benin City, Ekiti and Enugu.

He urged the corps members to use the internet productively and pursue opportunities that would position them as future leaders and contributors to national development.