The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has handed over ₦1.05 billion recovered funds to 659 disengaged teachers in Adamawa State who have spent years pursuing payment of their outstanding entitlements.
Key Highlights
- EFCC handed over ₦1,054,919,532.61 to 659 disengaged Adamawa teachers.
- The funds were received by their counsel, Luka Musa Haruna (SAN), at the EFCC Gombe Zonal Directorate.
- The teachers were employed in 2012 and their appointments declared illegal in 2014.
- The National Industrial Court ordered the state to pay their entitlements.
- EFCC preserved the funds after intelligence of possible misapplication.
The funds, valued at ₦1,054,919,532.61, were handed over to the beneficiaries through their counsel, Luka Musa Haruna (SAN), by the EFCC’s Gombe Zonal Directorate on Thursday.
The recovery follows a petition submitted to the anti-graft agency in 2024 by Abraham B. Song, who alleged that the affected teachers were employed by the Adamawa State government in 2012 and worked for 29 months in various secondary schools across the state.
Court Order, Garnishee Proceedings
According to the petition, the state government declared their appointments illegal in 2014, prompting the affected workers to approach the National Industrial Court of Nigeria for redress.
The court, sitting at its Yola Judicial Division in Jos, subsequently ordered the Adamawa State government to pay their outstanding entitlements.
However, the alleged failure to comply with the court order led to garnishee proceedings against the state government’s bank accounts.
The EFCC said it later received intelligence suggesting a risk of suspicious misapplication of the funds and took steps to preserve the money pending the outcome of its investigation.
The commission said its intervention ultimately facilitated the recovery and return of the funds to the affected workers.
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Beneficiaries Commend EFCC
Speaking during the handover ceremony, the acting Zonal Director of the EFCC’s Gombe Directorate, Austine Adache, reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to accountability, justice and restitution.
He said the commission remains committed to ensuring that victims of financial misconduct received appropriate redress in accordance with the law.
Haruna, who received the bank draft on behalf of the beneficiaries, commended the EFCC for its investigation and recovery efforts.
Song, whose petition triggered the investigation, also praised the commission’s intervention, saying the recovered money would help ease the financial hardship suffered by the affected workers.
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