The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has handed over recovered assets to the Federal Ministry of Education to improve student accommodation and strengthen learning infrastructure in public schools across the country.
The assets, comprising 501 double-decker bed frames, 939 mattresses and 12 wooden beds with mattresses, were formally transferred during a restitution ceremony in Abuja.
The move is part of the Federal Government’s commitment to deploying proceeds of recovered assets to projects that directly benefit Nigerians, particularly students.
Speaking at the event, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, said the handover reflects President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s determination to ensure that assets recovered from criminal activities are reinvested in critical sectors.
He noted that the initiative demonstrates the administration’s resolve to convert proceeds of crime into investments that improve student welfare, strengthen learning infrastructure and expand access to quality education.
Alausa said education remains at the heart of the President’s vision of building a one-trillion-dollar economy through sustained investment in human capital development.
According to him, redirecting recovered assets to schools is a deliberate policy aimed at transforming the proceeds of crime into opportunities that improve learning outcomes and secure a brighter future for Nigerian children.
The minister described the education sector as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Federal Government’s asset recovery programme.
He recalled that President Tinubu had earlier approved the conversion of a forfeited university facility into the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, instead of allowing the property to be sold.
He disclosed that the institution has already admitted more than 3,000 students into programmes in applied sciences, engineering, nursing, health sciences and other strategic disciplines, providing young Nigerians with skills needed for national development.
Alausa added that the newly recovered assets would significantly improve accommodation and welfare for students in colleges and other educational institutions nationwide.
He also commended EFCC Chairman, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, for strengthening public confidence in the Commission through professionalism, adherence to the rule of law and sustained action against corruption, procurement fraud and cybercrime.
Earlier, Olukoyede disclosed that the assets were recovered during Operation Eagle Flush, one of the Commission’s largest cybercrime operations.
He explained that the operation, conducted towards the end of 2024, resulted in the arrest of about 792 suspects, including foreign nationals, who were investigated, prosecuted, convicted and repatriated after serving their prison terms.
According to the EFCC chairman, the restitution was carried out in line with the provisions of the Proceeds of Crime Act and the Federal Government’s commitment to ensuring that recovered assets are transparently deployed for national development.
Olukoyede noted that children and young people are among the greatest victims of corruption and financial crimes, making it appropriate that they should benefit from assets recovered from criminal activities.
He also highlighted previous EFCC interventions in the education sector, including the transfer of the forfeited university facility that now operates as the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, and the deployment of recovered proceeds of crime as part of the seed funding for the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND.
According to him, about 1.4 million students have already benefited from the student loan scheme through tuition support and monthly upkeep allowances, easing financial burdens that often expose vulnerable youths to cybercrime and other financial offences.
The transfer of the recovered assets was formalised through the signing of a Deed of Release by representatives of the EFCC and the Federal Ministry of Education, including the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mr. Abel Olumuyiwa Enitan.
Alausa assured Nigerians that the recovered assets would be distributed transparently and equitably to Unity Schools across the country, where they would improve student welfare, enhance accommodation facilities and reinforce the Federal Government’s commitment to delivering accessible, inclusive and quality education for every Nigerian child.
