Nigeria's anti-graft agency returns 1,452 seized hostel properties to the ministry of education

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The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, on Tuesday handed over 1,452 items recovered from proceeds of crime to the Federal Ministry of Education to support schools across the country.

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The recovered items, comprising 501 double-step bunk beds, 939 mattresses and 12 wooden beds with mattresses, were formally presented to the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, at a ceremony in Abuja.

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Speaking at the event, Olukoyede said the items were recovered during the commission’s “Operation Eagle Flush,” a nationwide operation conducted in late 2024 against cybercrime and other financial offences.

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He described the operation as the largest single operation ever undertaken by the commission.

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“We are gathered here this afternoon to witness the handover to the Federal Ministry of Education of some recovered proceeds of crime duly forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria,” he said.

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According to him, the operation led to the arrest of 792 suspects, including 193 foreign nationals, all of whom were investigated, prosecuted and convicted before the foreign nationals were deported after serving their jail terms.

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Olukoyede said the decision to transfer the recovered items to the education ministry was in line with the Federal Government’s resolve to channel recovered assets into projects that directly benefit Nigerians.

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“President Bola Tinubu made this decision fully conscious of the fact that children and the youth are the greatest victims of corruption and financial crimes. So, it should naturally be the first beneficiaries of the proceeds of such crime,” he said.

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The EFCC chairman noted that the handover was not the first intervention from recovered assets directed at the education sector.

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He recalled that a forfeited university was previously transferred to the Federal Government and converted into the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia.

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“You all remember sometime last year, a whole university facility was forfeited to the Federal Government and it was handed over to the Ministry of Education. Today, we have the Federal University of Applied Sciences in Kachia, Kaduna State,” he said.

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Olukoyede also said recovered proceeds of crime had supported the establishment of the student loan scheme through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.

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He stated that more than 1.4 million students had benefited from the initiative, arguing that improved access to education would help reduce the attraction of cybercrime among young Nigerians.

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“So, today, those who never thought of going to school now have the opportunity of going to school. Potentially, 1.4 million young people have been taken out of the dockets of those who have the potential to commit financial crimes,” he said.

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He added that the commission would continue to recover proceeds of crime and ensure they were deployed transparently.

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“There is not a penny of forfeited or recovered proceeds of crime to be misappropriated or misused. On behalf of the management and staff of the EFCC, we promise transparency and accountability in the application of proceeds of crime,” Olukoyede said.

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Receiving the items, Alausa commended the EFCC chairman for adopting a proactive approach to tackling corruption, particularly procurement-related offences and cybercrime.

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“Beyond trying to be proactive in fighting corruption, beyond identifying where we have the most burden of corruption, you hear the chairman say all the time the biggest part of corruption in government has to do with procurement,” the minister said.

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He described education as central to the Federal Government’s economic agenda and said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had deliberately directed recovered assets towards strengthening the sector.

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“We have a President that believes so much in education. Education is the bedrock of the development of this country. As the President advances his agenda to build a one-trillion-dollar economy, he knows educating the youth is a pillar of building that economy,” Alausa said.

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The minister disclosed that the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, admitted about 3,000 students in its first academic session and is expected to increase its intake to over 5,000 students in its second year.

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He also revealed that the initial N50 billion seed funding for the Nigerian Education Loan Fund came from recovered proceeds of crime.

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“The first N50 billion that started the Nigerian Education Loan Fund came from the EFCC. This fund would not have been there without your aggressiveness in pursuing criminals looting public funds. So, we’re converting stolen money to gains—gains to develop our country,” he said.

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Alausa said the newly handed-over hostel facilities would be deployed to federal unity colleges across the country.

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“We need these bunks. We need these mattresses. We need these beds in our unity colleges. Chairman, thank you. We in the education sector have been the biggest beneficiary of this,” he said.

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He reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to ensuring that the recovered assets are used to improve access to quality education in line with the Federal Government’s education agenda.

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The handover is part of the Federal Government’s policy of channelling forfeited assets into public projects, particularly in the education sector.

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