By Kwin Israel, The Sight News
The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has said President Bola Tinubu is redirecting proceeds of crime into investments that improve student welfare, strengthen learning infrastructure and expand access to quality education across Nigeria.
Speaking in Abuja during the handover of recovered assets by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Dr. Alausa said the Federal Government’s asset recovery programme reflects the President’s commitment to ensuring that assets recovered from criminal activities are deployed to projects that directly benefit Nigerians, particularly children and young people.
The EFCC handed over 501 double-decker bed frames, 939 mattresses and 12 wooden beds with mattresses to the Federal Ministry of Education for distribution to Unity Schools nationwide.
The minister described education as central to the administration’s human capital development agenda, noting that the conversion of recovered assets into educational resources demonstrates the government’s resolve to transform the proceeds of crime into opportunities for learning and national development.
He cited the conversion of a forfeited university facility into the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, as another example of the policy, noting that the institution now has more than 3,000 students enrolled in programmes such as engineering, applied sciences, nursing and health sciences.
The minister commended EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, for strengthening public confidence in the anti-graft agency through sustained efforts against corruption, procurement fraud and cybercrime.
Earlier, the EFCC chairman, Ola Olukoyede, said the items were recovered during Operation Eagle Flush, one of the Commission’s largest cybercrime operations conducted in late 2024, which resulted in the arrest of 792 suspects, including foreign nationals, who were prosecuted and repatriated after serving their prison terms.
He said the restitution was in line with the Proceeds of Crime Act and the Federal Government’s commitment to deploying recovered assets transparently for national development.
According to him, the Commission has also supported the education sector through the transfer of the forfeited facility now housing the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, and by contributing recovered proceeds of crime as seed funding for the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), which has so far benefited about 1.4 million students through tuition and upkeep support.
The handover was formalised with 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 Olumuyiwa Enitan.
Dr. Alausa assured Nigerians that the recovered assets would be distributed transparently and equitably to Unity Schools across the country to improve student accommodation and learning conditions.
