NEWS
Forfeited University’s VC Lodge ‘Probably Bigger Than Tinubu’s Aso Rock Residence’, Says EFCC Boss, Ola Olukoyede
The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has sparked fresh attention on the scale of assets recovered from alleged financial crimes, revealing that a recently forfeited private university has a vice-chancellor’s residence that is probably larger than President Bola Tinubu’s official residence at the Aso Rock Villa.
Olukoyede made the disclosure in a video shared on his official X account on Friday, September 4, 2026, while highlighting the EFCC’s ongoing efforts to ensure that assets recovered through anti-corruption investigations are not left idle but are converted into productive assets for public benefit.
According to the EFCC chairman, the commission’s asset recovery efforts are increasingly producing tangible benefits for Nigerians, particularly through the conversion of forfeited properties and institutions into facilities that can serve public purposes.
He pointed to the case of NOK University in Kachia, Kaduna State, which was forfeited to the Federal Government and subsequently converted into the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia (FUASK).
“A university seized from crime is now a federal university. The recovered campus in Kaduna State became the Federal University of Applied Sciences, and in December 2025, 1,909 students matriculated there. Young people who, in the ordinary course of things, would never have seen the inside of a lecture hall,” he said.
Olukoyede explained that the transformation of the university represented more than an asset recovery victory, stressing that the institution was also expected to stimulate economic activity and create opportunities for residents of Southern Kaduna.
The EFCC chairman subsequently disclosed that another “high value” private university had recently been finally forfeited to the Federal Government, drawing attention to the extraordinary scale of some of the properties being recovered by the commission.
“You need to get to that university. It has temporary site and permanent site. The house that was built for the vice-chancellor alone is probably bigger than the president’s house in the villa. The picture is all over the place. If you Google it now, you will see the pictures,” Olukoyede stated.
Although he did not mention the university by name in the video, reports and EFCC filings have linked the description to Rayhaan University in Kebbi State.
The EFCC said a final forfeiture order secured on July 15, 2026, covered several properties associated with the university, including its permanent site, temporary site, a third site, its radio station and the residence built for the vice-chancellor.
The properties were linked to former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN.
The latest disclosure comes as the EFCC continues to emphasize a broader approach to asset recovery, with the commission seeking to demonstrate that the fight against corruption can yield benefits beyond arrests, prosecutions and monetary recoveries.
Olukoyede said recovered assets could be redirected into productive use, helping to strengthen institutions, generate government revenue and create opportunities for citizens.
“Taken together, these outcomes tell a larger story. Anti-corruption enforcement can restore physical space, strengthen federal and sub-national revenue, return working capital to institutions, companies and citizens, support financial market integrity, protect the extractive and digital economies, and strengthen Nigeria’s international credibility.
“It also produces a deterrence dividend: every successful every successful prosecution and every asset stripped from criminal enterprise reduces the cost of economic crime.”
The EFCC chairman further disclosed that between October 2023 and July 2026, the commission secured the interim or final forfeiture of 10,053 assets.
The recovered assets, he explained, cut across a wide range of categories, including real estate, land, vehicles, electronics, schools, factories, hotels, oil rigs, barges, machinery and aircraft, as well as 102 tonnes of solid minerals.
According to Olukoyede, the financial impact of the asset recovery drive has also been significant, with proceeds from disposals carried out under final forfeiture orders returning ₦12.07 billion to the Federal Government so far.
Beyond forfeited properties, the EFCC disclosed that it recovered ₦1.233 trillion in naira between October 2023 and July 2026.
During the same period, the commission also secured 10,872 convictions, figures that the EFCC says demonstrate the scale of its ongoing campaign against financial crimes.
The conversion of forfeited properties such as universities into public institutions is therefore emerging as one of the most visible aspects of the commission’s asset recovery strategy, as authorities seek to ensure that wealth traced to criminal activity can ultimately be redirected towards education, economic development and other public needs.