EFCC: Sending Tithes, Offerings to Private Ventures Is a Crime

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has issued a caution to religious leaders, saying that redirecting tithes, offerings, zakat and similar funds into private commercial ventures amounts to a criminal act. EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede delivered the warning in Abuja on Wednesday, September 23, during the 2026 Second Council Meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council. Olukoyede encouraged churches and mosques to put in place compliance and regulatory structures that would protect money placed in their care. He said clerics should set a positive example in the anti-corruption effort, since worshippers tend to imitate their leaders. According to him, it is wrong to blur the line between funds intended to spread the faith and a leader's personal finances. He added that religious leaders are free to engage in other occupations, such as trading cars or farming, but should not blend organizational funds with private money. Money given to an organization, he stressed, must not be moved into a personal business, describing such conduct as criminal and noting that followers observe these actions. The EFCC chair also said faith institutions carry a unique burden. While the commission can investigate, handle and prosecute fraud, religious communities are positioned to shape character and encourage honesty, thereby helping to stop crime before it happens. He further faulted places of worship that honor unexplained wealth. Using an example, he said a public servant might claim to have constructed a mosque whose value exceeds what he could earn over the next 500 years, and people would still attend its dedication. In Olukoyede's view, that amounts to dedicating the fruits of crime.