The Federal Government has redirected more than 1,440 assets recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to the education sector as part of efforts to transform proceeds of corruption into investments that improve teaching and learning across the country.
The assets, comprising 501 double-decker bed frames, 939 mattresses and 12 wooden beds with mattresses, were formally handed over to the Federal Ministry of Education during a restitution ceremony in Abuja.
Speaking at the event, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, said the initiative reflects President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to ensuring that resources recovered on behalf of Nigerians are deployed to projects with direct social and economic benefits, particularly for children and young people.
Alausa said education remains central to the President’s vision of building a $1 trillion economy through sustained investment in human capital.
He explained that redirecting assets recovered from corrupt practices to schools forms part of a deliberate policy to convert the proceeds of crime into opportunities that improve learning outcomes, expand access to education and strengthen the country’s human capital base.
According to the minister, education has become one of the major 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, rather than disposing of the property through public sale.
Alausa said the institution has since admitted more than 3,000 students into programmes covering applied sciences, engineering, nursing, health sciences and other strategic disciplines, thereby expanding access to quality tertiary education and equipping young Nigerians with skills required for national development.
He added that the latest batch of recovered assets would significantly improve student accommodation and welfare in colleges and other educational institutions nationwide.
The minister also commended EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, for strengthening public confidence in the anti-graft agency through professionalism, adherence to the rule of law and sustained efforts to combat corruption, procurement fraud and cybercrime.
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, Abel Enitan.
Alausa assured Nigerians that the assets would be distributed transparently and equitably to Federal Unity Colleges across the country to improve student welfare, strengthen learning infrastructure and support the government’s commitment to providing accessible, inclusive and quality education.
Earlier, Olukoyede said the assets were recovered during Operation Eagle Flush, one of the Commission’s largest cybercrime operations.
He disclosed that the operation, conducted towards the end of 2024, led to the arrest of about 792 suspects, including foreign nationals, who were subsequently investigated, prosecuted, convicted and repatriated after serving their prison terms.
According to him, the restitution was carried out in accordance with the Proceeds of Crime Act and the Federal Government’s policy of ensuring that recovered assets are transparently utilised 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 benefit directly from assets recovered from criminal activities.
He also highlighted previous interventions by the EFCC in the education sector, including the transfer of the forfeited university facility now operating 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.
According to the EFCC chairman, about 1.4 million students have so far benefited from the education loan scheme through tuition support and monthly upkeep allowances, helping to ease financial pressures that often expose vulnerable young people to cybercrime and other financial offences.
