EFCC donates recovered beds, mattresses to unity schools

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has handed over 1,452 items recovered from forfeited proceeds of crime to the Federal Ministry of Education for distribution to federal unity colleges across the country.

The items, comprising 501 double-step bunk beds, 939 mattresses and 12 wooden beds with mattresses, were presented to the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, by EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede during a ceremony in Abuja on Tuesday.

Olukoyede said the items were recovered during Operation Eagle Flush, a nationwide crackdown on cybercrime and financial offences conducted in late 2024, which he described as the largest operation in the commission’s history.

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

He said the Federal Government approved the transfer of the recovered items to the education sector to ensure that assets recovered from criminal activities directly benefit Nigerians.

“Children and young people are among the greatest victims of corruption and financial crimes. It is only right that they become the first beneficiaries of recovered assets,” Olukoyede said.

The EFCC chairman noted that the handover was part of a broader policy of redirecting forfeited assets to public development, recalling that a university forfeited to the Federal Government was converted into the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, Kaduna State.

He also said proceeds recovered from financial crimes contributed to the establishment of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, adding that more than 1.4 million students have already benefited from the scheme.

Olukoyede pledged that the commission would continue to ensure transparency in the management and deployment of recovered assets.

“There is not a penny of recovered proceeds of crime that will be misused. We remain committed to accountability and transparency,” he said.

Receiving the items, Alausa commended the EFCC for strengthening the fight against corruption and ensuring that recovered assets are redirected to national development.

The minister said education remains central to President Bola Tinubu’s economic agenda, describing investment in schools and students as critical to achieving the administration’s goal of building a $1 trillion economy.

He disclosed that the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, admitted about 3,000 students in its first academic session and is expected to increase enrolment to more than 5,000 students in its second year.

Alausa also revealed that the initial ₦50 billion seed capital for the Nigerian Education Loan Fund came from assets recovered by the EFCC.

He said the beds and mattresses would be distributed to unity schools nationwide to improve students’ welfare and expand access to quality education.