EFCC, presidential committee partner to curb social vices, corruption in schools

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has pledged to work closely with the Presidential Committee on Campaign Against Social Vices in Secondary and Tertiary Institutions to tackle corruption, cybercrime, cultism, drug abuse, and other vices among Nigerian students.

Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, made this known in Abuja when the Chairman of the Committee, Professor Jerry Ugokwe, led his team on a courtesy visit to the Commission’s headquarters.

Represented by the Director of Fraud Risks Assessment and Control (FRAC), Commander of the EFCC, CE Ibrahim Shazali, Olukoyede stressed that the Commission remains committed to preventive measures in the fight against corruption.

He noted that the EFCC had since inception established Integrity Clubs in primary and secondary schools and Zero Tolerance Clubs in higher institutions to instill positive values in students.

“The campaign against social vices is something that the EFCC started from inception all we are doing is to ensure that students at different levels of education are encouraged to embrace good value systems that will insulate them from corrupt practices,” he said.

Olukoyede added that preventive frameworks such as sensitization, reorientation, and collaborations with stakeholders were central to the Commission’s anti-graft mandate.

He pledged full support for the Committee’s activities, noting that drug abuse, cybercrime, alcoholism, and cultism in schools often fuel corruption and other anti-social behaviors.

On his part, Professor Ugokwe emphasized that the fight against corruption cannot succeed without nurturing the right values in the younger generation.

He explained that the Committee was established to design, coordinate, and implement a nationwide campaign against social vices in schools.

According to him, the Committee’s work rests on four pillars: awareness and sensitization, capacity building and training, policy and advocacy, as well as collaboration and enforcement support.

He called for joint campus sensitization programmes, annual anti-corruption essay competitions, and capacity-building initiatives to consolidate efforts against vices.

The visit, both parties agreed, will mark the beginning of stronger collaboration aimed at instilling integrity, discipline, and patriotism among Nigerian students.