When The Proceeds Of Crime Become Instruments Of Public Good

SEN. TOLU ODEBIYI, CON

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu deserves commendation for a landmark and deeply consequential decision: directing legally recoverable funds recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) towards the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), thereby strengthening access to education for Nigerian students. The directive reportedly covers liquid funds that have been recovered and are legally available for utilisation, while funds still subject to litigation will remain untouched until the legal process is concluded.

This is more than an administrative decision. It represents an important principle in the management of public resources: when wealth stolen from society is recovered, society should be the ultimate beneficiary.

For too long, the story of recovered assets in Nigeria has been dominated by questions about where the assets go, who manages them, how they are disposed of and whether Nigerians actually see meaningful benefits from the recovery process. The Senate’s recent move towards establishing a dedicated framework for the recovery, preservation and management of proceeds of crime demonstrates that this is a structural issue requiring stronger transparency and accountability.

President Tinubu’s decision offers an opportunity to change the narrative.

There is something profoundly symbolic about using the proceeds of corruption to educate young Nigerians. Money that may once have been diverted from the public purse can now help a young Nigerian remain in university. Resources that may have been acquired through illicit enrichment can potentially become the foundation for human capital development.

That is how government restores public trust.

A principle that should go beyond the EFCC

I would therefore urge the President to institutionalise this philosophy across all government agencies and institutions responsible for recovering, confiscating or managing proceeds of crime and forfeited assets.

The EFCC should not be the only institution expected to think in these terms.

Where legally permissible, proceeds and assets recovered by agencies such as the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the Nigeria Customs Service and other competent authorities should ultimately be channelled towards clearly defined public-interest priorities.

These could include education, healthcare, affordable housing, social protection, rehabilitation of drug-dependent persons, support for victims of crime, youth development, skills acquisition and critical infrastructure.

The principle should be simple:

Crime must not merely result in confiscation. Its proceeds should be transformed into social value.

Of course, this must never become an excuse for arbitrary appropriation. Every recovery must remain subject to due process, judicial orders where required, protection of bona fide third-party interests and rigorous financial controls. Nigeria’s asset-recovery architecture must be anchored in the rule of law. The objective is not simply to recover assets, but to recover them legitimately, transparently and accountably.

From recovered wealth to visible impact

There is also an opportunity to establish a transparent national framework for recovered assets.

Nigerians should be able to know, periodically and in accessible form:

• What was recovered;
• Which agency recovered it;
• Whether the recovery is final or still subject to litigation;
• The value of the recovered asset;
• Where the money or asset was eventually deployed; and
• What measurable social impact resulted.

Imagine a Nigerian student receiving an education loan and knowing that part of the funding came from money recovered from corruption.

Imagine a community receiving a healthcare facility funded through the proceeds of forfeited criminal assets.

Imagine a vocational centre for unemployed young people established from the proceeds of illicit wealth.

That is a powerful message to society: what criminals attempted to take from the Nigerian people can be returned to the Nigerian people in a form that improves their lives.

The President has set an important precedent

President Tinubu’s directive should therefore be seen not merely as a funding decision for NELFUND, but as the beginning of a broader philosophy of governance.

The recently passed legislative initiative to strengthen the institutional management of recovered assets also points in this direction, with greater emphasis on centralised oversight, asset tracking and accountability.

The President should be encouraged to take this further by developing a national Recovered Assets for Public Good Framework, under which legally cleared proceeds of crime and forfeited assets are deliberately directed towards high-impact national priorities.

Such a framework would ensure that asset recovery produces a second victory.

The first victory is taking the proceeds away from those who obtained them illegally.

The second and arguably more important victory is ensuring that those proceeds are used to improve the lives of innocent Nigerians.

I commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for this landmark decision. It is a practical demonstration that the fight against corruption should not end in courtrooms, forfeiture orders and press releases. The real measure of success is what Nigerians ultimately gain from the resources recovered in their name.

Let this become a national standard.

Let stolen wealth be transformed into scholarships. Let forfeited assets become hospitals, schools and affordable housing. Let recovered resources become opportunities for the poor, the vulnerable and the next generation.

Because when the proceeds of crime are returned to society and deployed for humanity, justice does not merely punish wrongdoing it rebuilds lives.

Sen. Tolu Odebiyi, CON
Fmr senator Ogun West
2019-2023