The Chairman of the (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede, on Tuesday handed over 1,452 hostel items recovered from convicted cybercriminals to the Federal Ministry of Education, saying assets forfeited to the government should be deployed to improve the lives of Nigerians, particularly students and young people.
The recovered items—501 double-step bunk beds, 939 mattresses and 12 wooden beds with mattresses—were presented to the Minister of Education, , in Abuja.
Olukoyede said the items were recovered during the commission’s landmark 2024 anti-cybercrime operation, codenamed Operation Eagle Flush, which resulted in the arrest of 792 suspected cybercriminals, including 193 foreign nationals.
According to him, all the suspects were investigated, prosecuted and convicted, while the foreign nationals were repatriated after serving their jail terms.
Describing the exercise as one of the EFCC’s biggest cybercrime operations, Olukoyede said the handover reflected the Federal Government’s policy of channeling recovered proceeds of crime into critical social sectors, especially education.
“The decision to hand over these recovered assets to the education sector is deliberate. Children and young people are the greatest victims of corruption and financial crimes and should therefore be the first beneficiaries of recovered assets,” he said.
He noted that President Bola Tinubu approved the initiative in recognition of education as a strategic investment in Nigeria’s future.
The EFCC chairman recalled that the commission had previously handed over a forfeited university facility to the Ministry of Education, which now operates as the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, in Kaduna State.
Olukoyede also disclosed that proceeds of crime recovered by the EFCC under the had provided significant funding for the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
According to him, more than 1.4 million students have benefited from the scheme through tuition support and monthly upkeep allowances.
He said the initiative had enabled thousands of financially disadvantaged students to remain in school, adding that reducing economic hardship among young people was also a strategy for preventing cybercrime.
“We discovered that many students engage in financial crimes because they cannot afford to pay their school fees, even though they genuinely want to acquire education,” Olukoyede said.
He expressed confidence that the hostel facilities would improve accommodation and learning conditions in secondary schools and tertiary institutions nationwide, assuring that the EFCC would continue working with the ministry to ensure the assets are effectively deployed.
Receiving the items on behalf of the Federal Government, Alausa commended the EFCC’s sustained anti-corruption efforts and pledged that the hostel facilities would be distributed to institutions with the greatest need, particularly Federal Government Colleges, popularly known as unity schools.
The minister described the education sector as the biggest beneficiary of recovered assets under the Tinubu administration, saying the government’s anti-corruption drive was being translated into meaningful investments in education and human capital development.
He praised the EFCC under Olukoyede for operating within the rule of law, strengthening professionalism and adopting a more proactive approach to combating corruption, particularly procurement fraud and cybercrime.
Alausa described internet fraud as a growing threat to Nigeria’s youth, stressing that the administration was tackling both the causes and consequences of the crime through increased investment in education.
He said the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia—established from forfeited assets—admitted nearly 3,000 students in its first academic session and is projected to enrol about 5,000 students in its second year, with emphasis on science and health-related disciplines.
The minister also revealed that the first N50 billion released to NELFUND came from EFCC recoveries, adding that more than 1.4 million students across the country now benefit from loans covering tuition fees and living expenses.
Alausa thanked President Tinubu and the EFCC for prioritising education through the deployment of recovered assets and reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to ensuring the facilities are put to effective use to improve learning outcomes nationwide.
