The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has handed over a bank draft of N1.05bn to 659 disengaged staff of the Adamawa State Post-Primary Schools Management Board as recovered funds for their outstanding entitlements.

A statement released by the commission’s spokesman, Dele Oyewale, said the EFCC Gombe Zonal Directorate presented the draft, valued at N1,054,919,532.61, to the beneficiaries on Thursday following an investigation into a petition over the non-payment of their entitlements.

“The Gombe Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission handed over a bank draft valued at ₦1,054,919,532.61 to 659 Batch D1 disengaged staff of the Adamawa State Post-Primary Schools Management Board, representing funds recovered in the course of an investigation,” the statement partly read.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, the Acting Zonal Director, Austine Adache, reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to accountability, justice and the restitution of recovered funds to their rightful beneficiaries.

Adache, an Assistant Commander of the EFCC, said the commission remained committed to ensuring that victims of financial misconduct received appropriate redress in accordance with the law.

The recovery followed a petition submitted to the EFCC in 2024 by Abraham B. Song, who alleged that the affected staff were employed by the Adamawa State Government in 2012 and worked for 29 months in various secondary schools across the state.

According to the petitioner, the state government declared their appointments illegal in 2014, prompting the affected workers to institute proceedings at the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Yola Judicial Division, sitting in Jos.

The court subsequently ordered the state government to pay their outstanding entitlements.

However, the alleged failure to comply with the order led to garnishee proceedings against the state government’s accounts.

The EFCC said, “In the course of its investigation, the EFCC reportedly received intelligence indicating a potential risk of suspicious misapplication of the funds. The Commission consequently took steps to preserve the funds pending the outcome of its investigation, ultimately facilitating their recovery and restitution to the beneficiaries.”

The beneficiaries’ counsel, Luka Musa Haruna, SAN, who received the bank draft on their behalf, commended the Commission for its investigation and recovery efforts.

Haruna said he had consistently maintained confidence in the EFCC’s capacity to combat economic and financial crimes in Nigeria.

Similarly, Song praised the commission for its intervention, noting that the recovered funds would help alleviate the financial losses and hardship suffered by the affected workers.

The handover marks a significant development in the beneficiaries’ years-long effort to recover their outstanding entitlements.