AFRICA is haemorrhaging $88.6bn every year due to corruption and illicit financial flows, a figure that now amounts to 3.7 percent of the continent’s total GDP. That was the grim revelation made by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) at a high-level anti-corruption training held in Niger State, Nigeria.
The regional training programme, aimed at equipping anti-corruption agencies across West Africa with advanced financial investigation skills, brought together stakeholders determined to curb the continent’s most pressing economic threats.
Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, made the disclosure in a keynote address delivered on his behalf by Ebenezer Asiedu, Head of the Commission’s Democracy and Good Governance Division.
‘Africa is not just losing money – it’s losing opportunities, trust, and the future of its youth,’ Asiedu said. ‘Corruption remains one of the biggest impediments to our collective development.’
Digital finance, new dangers
Asiedu warned that the expansion of digital finance in West Africa – including mobile money and cryptocurrency – has introduced fresh risks. Without updated tools and trained personnel, law enforcement agencies risk being outpaced by increasingly tech-savvy financial criminals.
‘The digital boom must be matched with a security response that is just as fast and intelligent,’ he said.
The training in Niger State was designed to close that gap by arming investigators with cutting-edge skills to trace, investigate, and prosecute complex financial crimes.
ECOWAS tied to democratic and governance values
The fight against corruption is not new to ECOWAS. Since the resurgence of democracy in the region, the commission has made governance reform a key priority, backed by binding legal instruments such as the Revised ECOWAS Treaty (1993) and the Protocols on Democracy and Corruption (2001).
Asiedu emphasised that ECOWAS’s anti-corruption drive reflects a broader political commitment by the Authority of Heads of State and Government to uphold transparency, justice, and development.
‘We cannot talk about economic prosperity without addressing the rot that drains our resources,’ he added.
Nigeria’s example gets global attention
Meanwhile, in Malta, the Executive Chairman of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, used the Commonwealth Law Conference as a platform to urge other nations to replicate Nigeria’s bold reforms.
Addressing the theme Combating Transnational Organised Crime in the Commonwealth, Olukoyede argued that while the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) enhanced monitoring regime presents challenges, it also paves the way for deep, lasting reforms.
‘Nigeria’s case shows that the gains of FATF monitoring go beyond compliance. They build resilient institutions capable of cutting off terrorist financing,’ he said.
Olukoyede also pushed for more balanced consideration of countries in sub-Saharan Africa, many of which are disproportionately represented on the FATF enhanced monitoring list.
‘We must avoid penalising vulnerable economies while the real enablers of financial crime remain untouched,’ he warned.
A continent-wide wake-up call
With billions lost annually and development stifled, the calls from ECOWAS and Nigeria carry a clear urgency. The Niger State training underscores a regional shift towards technical capacity and legal alignment in fighting graft. But wider international support, transparency, and strong political will are crucial to turn the tide.
