The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has identified poor parenting and family neglect as key drivers of youths’ increasing involvement in financial crimes across Nigeria.
Speaking in Kaduna on Friday, September 19, 2025, at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Olukoyede—represented by the Acting Director of the Kaduna Zonal Directorate, Assistant Commander Bawa Usman Kaltungo—warned that the absence of strong family support systems leaves young people vulnerable to economic and financial crimes.
He explained that neglect often arises from poverty, ignorance, abdication of parental responsibility, and substance abuse, all of which weaken the ability of families to provide emotional, psychological, and material support to children.
“The nexus between family dysfunction and youth criminality calls for a multi-dimensional approach, both in diagnosing the negative outcomes and in administering the required remedies,” he said.
Olukoyede suggested that mentorship, family engagement, and youth development initiatives such as sports could serve as effective alternatives to crime. He also expressed concern that some tertiary institution students arrested for internet fraud frequently cite financial hardship and lack of family support as their reasons for engaging in cybercrime.
The EFCC chairman commended the Federal Government’s intervention through the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFund)—seeded with ₦50 billion recovered proceeds of crime by the EFCC—as a timely initiative to ease students’ financial burdens and reduce their exposure to illicit activities.
He further highlighted the Commission’s preventive and reorientation initiatives, including the EFCC Integrity Club for primary and secondary schools, the Zero Tolerance Club for tertiary institutions, the EFCC/NYSC CDS Group for corps members, and the National Cybercrime Summit, all aimed at guiding young Nigerians away from financial and economic crimes.
