The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has revealed how a confiscated property formerly owned by a civil servant in Kaduna State was transformed into a federal university as part of its ongoing asset recovery and repurposing initiative.
The Executive Chairman of the Commission, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, made the disclosure on Friday during a stakeholders’ sensitisation programme held in Lagos.
Olukoyede said the recovered property now serves as the permanent site of the newly established Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, in Kaduna State, describing the development as a milestone in redirecting proceeds of corruption towards national development.
“This is what accountability looks like—assets recovered from corruption being repurposed to serve the people,” Olukoyede said.
He explained that the EFCC’s focus has shifted from mere seizure and auctioning of properties to strategic reinvestment in infrastructure and social programmes that benefit citizens directly.
According to him, other recovered assets and funds had also been utilised to set up a skill acquisition centre and liaison office of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in Bayelsa State.
He added that more than ₦100 billion recovered by the Commission had been channelled into priority programmes under the Tinubu administration, including the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund) and the CrediCorp consumer credit initiative.
“These are not just figures. They represent tangible projects and interventions funded by funds looted from public coffers,” he said.
Olukoyede also addressed the growing abuse of the national currency, warning that practices such as naira spraying, stamping, and mutilation were unlawful and culturally unacceptable.
He announced the formation of a Task Force on Dollarization and Naira Abuse, jointly operated by the EFCC and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to enforce existing laws against such practices.
“Nobody who works hard to earn money will go out and start throwing their hard-earned salary in the air,” he said, calling on Nigerians to show respect for the naira.
Highlighting recent institutional reforms within the Commission, Olukoyede said the EFCC had created a Fraud Risk Assessment and Control Department, a dedicated anti-corruption radio station, and rolled out weekly public awareness programmes to promote transparency and accountability.
He reaffirmed that enforcement would continue alongside sensitisation to ensure lasting change in the nation’s anti-corruption drive.
