EFCC Boss Channels N100bn Recovered Funds into Education Initiatives

By Micheal Chukwuebuka

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has revealed that funds recovered from criminal proceeds are being channeled into key social investment programmes, including the Students Loan and Consumer Credit schemes.

Speaking during a media parley marking his second year in office, Olukoyede said the EFCC recovered significant sums in local and foreign currencies within two years — N566.3 billion, $411.6 million, £71,306, €182,877, and CAD $5,510, among others.

He added that N100 billion of these recoveries have been invested in the two national schemes, while other funds and properties were returned to government agencies such as NDDC, AMCON, FIRS, and NHIA. Some seized assets have also been allocated for government use.

According to him, the EFCC recovered 1,502 properties since 2023, including 753 duplexes in Lokogoma, Abuja, and the forfeited Nok University, now renamed the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, Kaduna State.

Represented by the agency’s Director of Public Affairs, Wilson Uwujaren, Olukoyede noted that the EFCC has intensified the fight against cybercrime through increased enforcement and public sensitization campaigns.

He highlighted the agency’s new focus on corruption prevention through the Fraud Risk Assessment and Control (FRAC) unit, which monitors MDAs to curb fund diversion. The initiative, he said, ensured delivery of over 80% of the Presidential CNG buses in 2024.

Olukoyede reaffirmed EFCC’s commitment to prosecuting all corruption cases, including revived trials of Fred Ajudua, Haliru Bello, Sambo Dasuki, and Ngozi Olojeme.

Within two years, the EFCC received 19,318 petitions, investigated 29,240 cases, filed 10,525 in court, and secured 7,503 convictions.