Olukoyede made the call on Wednesday in Abuja at the second 2026 Council Meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), where the Anti-Corruption Interfaith Manual for religious leaders was launched.
The EFCC chairman said religious institutions had an important role to play in preventing corruption, noting that the influence of pastors and imams could extend beyond the enforcement powers of the commission.
He said, “The EFCC can investigate a person’s conduct. Faith communities can influence that person’s character. We can prosecute fraud. Religious teaching can cultivate honesty.
“We can confiscate illicit wealth. Churches and mosques can challenge the values that make society worship wealth without questioning its source. We can punish corruption after the event. Faith can help prevent it before it begins.”
Olukoyede stressed that corruption and financial crimes should not be viewed through religious or ethnic identities, as their effects are felt by Nigerians across all communities.
He said, “Financial crime has no religion. Corruption has no tribe. Fraud does not become Christian or Muslim because of the identity of the person accused of committing it.”
The EFCC chairman urged pastors and imams to use the newly launched manual to educate their followers about the dangers of corruption and discourage the pursuit of wealth without regard to its source.
He said the commission had continued to work with Christian and Muslim leaders through its interfaith framework to promote anti-corruption messages.
Olukoyede added that the new manual was developed with the participation of leaders from both faiths and contains the doctrinal positions of Christianity and Islam on corruption.
The Executive Secretary of NIREC, Prof. Cornelius Omonokhua, said the second edition of the anti-corruption preaching and teaching manual was developed through the EFCC’s Interfaith Anti-Corruption Advisory Committee.
He said the manual and facilitators’ guides would help Christian and Muslim preachers communicate religious teachings against corruption while promoting peaceful coexistence.
Omonokhua said no nation could prosper in the face of corruption at all levels, adding that religious leaders involved in corrupt practices could not claim to uphold the teachings of their faith.
Also speaking, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, who represented President Bola Tinubu, said religious leaders and other stakeholders had important roles to play in tackling insecurity and other challenges facing the country.
Akume said violence, banditry, kidnapping, communal clashes and terrorism had created fear among Nigerians, including parents who were increasingly reluctant to send their children to school.
He called for collaboration among religious leaders, traditional rulers and the government to counter narratives that promote division and conflict.
The event was attended by the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Rev. Daniel Okoh; the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar; former JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede; the Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli; and the Shehu of Borno, Abubakar Umar El-Kanemi, among others.
The EFCC has previously identified engagement with faith-based organisations as part of its preventive strategy against corruption, including the development of interfaith materials for Christian and Muslim communities.
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