Criminal networks are increasingly using digital platforms and artificial intelligence to move illicit funds across borders, West Africa’s top anti-corruption official has warned.
Ola Olukoyede, Chairman of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), raised the alarm in Abuja on Tuesday at a regional summit for heads of national anti-graft agencies.
Speaking as President of the Network of Anti-Corruption Institutions in West Africa (NACIWA), Mr. Olukoyede told delegates that emerging technologies have created new avenues for fraud, concealment, and financial manipulation.
AI as a double-edged sword
Addressing anti-graft leaders from countries including Ghana, Sierra Leone, Senegal, and Cape Verde, Mr. Olukoyede highlighted the dual impact of artificial intelligence on law enforcement.
While AI offers immense potential for intelligence gathering and risk assessment, he warned that cross-border financial crime now moves across multiple jurisdictions in seconds:
- Digital Fraud: Cybercrime networks are leveraging new technologies to bypass national enforcement frameworks.
- Governance Risks: AI deployment raises critical ethical concerns around data integrity and institutional readiness.
- Cross-Border Tracking: Transnational crime requires regional anti-graft agencies to coordinate intelligence-led enforcement in real time.
“Our institutions must be built to outlive us,” Mr. Olukoyede said, stressing that anti-corruption agencies must pursue complex cases against powerful interests while upholding the rule of law.
Call for transformational leadership
The two-day conference, held at the ECOWAS Secretariat, aims to produce the “Abuja Leadership Declaration”—a unified framework setting out operational standards and joint strategies for regional anti-graft bodies.
In a keynote lecture, Nigeria’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, urged regional leaders to build resilient institutions that can withstand political pressure.
Warning that public office “is not a licence for self-enrichment”, Mr. Fagbemi stated that the fight against corruption across West Africa depends heavily on leaders willing to enforce legal mandates without fear or favour.
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