The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has disclosed that universities recovered through its asset-forfeiture process are being converted into federal institutions as part of efforts to ensure that proceeds of crime are redirected towards public development.
EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, said the commission’s asset recovery programme was increasingly focused on ensuring that forfeited properties and other assets are put to productive use for the benefit of Nigerians.
One of the institutions cited is the former NOK University in Kachia, Kaduna State, which was forfeited to the Federal Government and subsequently converted into the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia.
The institution has already begun admitting students, with about 1,900 students matriculating during its first academic session.
Olukoyede explained that the conversion demonstrates how recovered assets can be transformed from instruments associated with alleged financial crimes into facilities that contribute to education and national development.
He said the commission had secured final forfeiture of thousands of assets during the period under review, including real estate, vehicles, land and other properties.
The EFCC chairman stressed that asset recovery should not end with the seizure of property, but should ultimately result in tangible benefits for society and rightful beneficiaries.
The Federal Government has also channelled other recovered proceeds into the education sector, including funding support for the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.
The development forms part of the government’s broader policy of deploying forfeited assets and recovered proceeds towards projects and programmes that directly benefit Nigerians.
