The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has warned religious leaders that diverting tithes, offerings, zakat and other religious funds into private businesses is criminal.
EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede gave the warning on Wednesday in Abuja at the 2026 Second Council Meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), themed “Shared Sacred Flourishing in Nigeria.”
He advised churches and mosques to set up regulatory compliance mechanisms to protect funds entrusted to them, stressing that religious leaders must lead the anti-corruption fight by example because followers emulate their conduct.
“Don’t mix the money from the purse of your organisation with your own personal money. When money is paid to your organisation, don’t divert it to your business. That’s criminal,” he said.
Olukoyede also criticised worship centres that celebrate unexplained wealth, saying a public servant who builds a mosque worth more than his earnings in 500 years is dedicating proceeds of crime.
He warned faith communities against providing moral shelter for corruption, adding that no ethnic group should see the investigation of its member as an attack, and no charitable donation should cleanse wealth obtained through the suffering of others.
He said the EFCC had established a Directorate of Fraud Risk Assessment and Control to monitor ministries, departments and agencies, and had dismissed over 40 staff for corrupt practices.
The commission also inaugurated an Inter-Faith Manual to help religious leaders preach anti-corruption messages. Olukoyede stressed that financial crime has no religion and corruption has no tribe, as Christians and Muslims alike suffer when public money is stolen.
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