EFCC Chairman warns religious leaders: Using tithes, offerings, zakat for personal business is a crime

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Olanipekun Olukoyede, has warned religious leaders against diverting tithes, offerings, zakat and other funds belonging to religious organisations into their private businesses, Tribune reported.

Speaking at the 2026 Second Council Meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council, Olukoyede said religious bodies are registered as not-for-profit entities and their funds must be used for their intended purposes. “Don’t mix the money from the purse of your organisation with that of your own personal money,” he said.

He urged churches and mosques to develop regulatory compliance templates defining the boundaries between organisational and personal finances. He also alleged that EFCC investigations of pilgrimage boards found almost 75 per cent of government funds released for pilgrims’ sponsorship had been stolen in one location.