WorldStage— The President of Global Peace Movement International, Dr Mike Uyi, has commended the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, for converting proceeds of corruption into tangible national assets.
His commendation comes barely a day after President Bola Tinubu directed the the EFCC to channel recovered funds into the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND to invest in the future of young Nigerians and support the growth of the nation’s education sector.
The Federal Government is investing billions of recovered funds into NELFUND and Consumer Credit Corporation, CREDICORP.
Dr. Uyi described the Federal Government’s decision to channel liquid EFCC recoveries into NELFUND and Consumer Credit Corporation, CREDICORP as an investment in Nigeria’s future.
Uyi said the policy demonstrated that resources recovered from financial crimes could be deliberately redirected towards building human capital, and that Olukoyede had shown the anti-corruption war should not end with arrests, prosecutions and convictions, but must produce measurable benefits for society.
He pointed to the forfeiture of 48 properties linked to former Attorney-General of the Federation Abubakar Malami, ordered by a Federal High Court in Abuja in July 2026 after the court held that the respondents had failed to dislodge the EFCC’s case that the properties were acquired through proceeds of unlawful activities.
Uyi described the scale of the recovery as particularly significant, saying it showed the Commission’s willingness to pursue forfeiture proceedings even against highly placed former public officials.
He also cited the Commission’s legal victory over assets linked to former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele as evidence of the depth of the anti-corruption drive.
Supreme Court in July 2026 affirmed the final forfeiture of seven high-value properties, $2.045 million and share certificates linked to Emefiele, restoring an earlier Federal High Court order after the case passed through the Court of Appeal.
He said the outcome demonstrated that “no office, position or status should place anyone beyond the reach of accountability.”
The President of Global Peace Movement International said, “There is something particularly significant about taking money or assets recovered from crime and using them to educate young Nigerians. It means that what was taken away from society through corruption is being returned to society in the form of opportunity.
“This is where I believe Olukoyede’s leadership deserves special commendation. He has helped to demonstrate that the success of an anti-corruption agency should not be measured only by the number of people arrested or convicted, but also by what happens to the resources recovered.
“When a recovered asset becomes a school facility, when recovered funds support a student to remain in university, or when a forfeited property becomes a public asset, Nigerians can physically see the dividends of the fight against corruption.”
He commended the EFCC’s intensified campaign against cybercrime, noting that a major nationwide operation led to the arrest of 792 suspects, including 193 foreign nationals who were investigated, prosecuted, convicted and later deported after serving their prison terms.
He said the operation showed that Olukoyede’s EFCC was confronting the increasingly sophisticated cybercrime ecosystem threatening Nigeria’s international reputation and exploiting young people.
In July 2026, the EFCC handed over 1,452 recovered hostel items, comprising 501 double-step bunk beds, 939 mattresses and 12 wooden beds with mattresses, to the Federal Ministry of Education for use in schools across the country. Olukoyede said the items were recovered during Operation Eagle Flush, which he described as the Commission’s largest single operation.
“Corruption takes away from the future. Education builds the future. So, when proceeds of corruption are recovered and channelled into education, there is a powerful sense of restoration,” Uyi said.
He urged the Federal Government to sustain the policy while strengthening transparency and accountability in the management of recovered funds and assets.
“Olukoyede is showing that an anti-corruption agency can do more than recover stolen resources; it can help return those resources to the people in ways that strengthen the country’s future,” he said.
Uyi described the growing link between EFCC recoveries and education funding as “one of the most compelling examples of turning the proceeds of accountability into the foundation for opportunity,” saying its sustainability could give the anti-corruption campaign a deeper and more enduring meaning for ordinary Nigerians.
Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, had disclosed after a Federal Executive Council meeting that President Bola Tinubu directed that all liquid funds recovered by the EFCC be transferred to NELFUND to support its growing obligations, alongside unclaimed dividends from the Capital Market Trust Fund and the Dormant Account Trust Fund.
Alausa clarified that the directive does not cover seized properties or other non-liquid assets, but specifically liquid recovered funds.
