Nigeria: EFCC Hands Over Recovered N1.05bn Entitlements to 659 Disengaged Adamawa Teachers

What the report says

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission says it has transferred N1.05 billion to 659 teachers who were disengaged by the Adamawa State Government in 2014. According to the report published by Premium Times and distributed by AllAfrica, the EFCC’s Gombe Zonal Directorate handed over a bank draft worth N1,054,919,532.61 at a ceremony on Thursday, with the teachers represented by lawyer Luka Haruna, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

The commission said it opened the case after receiving a petition from Abraham Song in 2024 over unpaid entitlements owed to the former teachers. It said its investigation suggested the money risked being misapplied, and that it took steps to preserve the funds before recovering and releasing them. EFCC Acting Zonal Director Austine Adache said the agency was committed to accountability and returning recovered assets to the people entitled to them.

The background to the dispute dates back to 2012, when the teachers were employed and posted to secondary schools across Adamawa State. Their appointments were later declared invalid in December 2014, leading to a legal challenge. A National Industrial Court ruling in 2018 found in their favour and ordered payment of arrears and related benefits. The latest handover is significant because it appears to close at least part of a long-running employment and compensation dispute that has moved through court enforcement efforts and questions over the outstanding balance.