Tripoli— The Public Prosecutor ordered the arrest of the Acting Minister of Education in the Government of National Unity (GNU) and the Director General of the Educational Curricula and Research Center, who also acts as Undersecretary of the Ministry for Administrative and Institutional Affairs, on a major corruption case involving the printing of textbooks for 2 million Libyan students.
In a statement on Saturday, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) said it conducted an investigation into the contracting procedures for printing school textbooks for the 2025/2026 academic year, which “revealed patterns of abuse that accompanied the administrative and financial procedures related to the contracts,”
The Acting Minister of Education, Ali Al-Abed Abu Azoum, was appointed by PM Abdulhamid Dbeibeh in May 2025 to run the Ministry of Education, in addition to his responsibilities as Minister of Labor and Rehabilitation along with the Ministry of Civil Service.
The OAG’s statement said the detainees were responsible for the failure “to provide school textbooks to two million students within the deadlines stipulated in the approved education strategy.”
“Therefore, the investigator decided to detain them pending further investigation for harming the public interest and violating the right to education,” it added.
The appointment Ali Al-Abed followed a court ruling sentencing the GNU’s then-Minister of Education, Musa Al-Magharief, to prison in connection with corruption cases also related to the printing of school textbooks.
As for the Director General of the Educational Curricula and Research Center, Ali Al-Tabruri, who also acts as Undersecretary of the Ministry for Administrative and Institutional Affairs was appointed to the position following the arrest of his predecessor along with the former Minister Al-Magharief.
On 29 October, the Acting Minister Ali Al-Abed fired Al-Tabruri due to what his circulated decision said “the failure to provide textbooks, administrative negligence, and dereliction of duty.”
On Friday 1 November, a day before the arrest of the acting Minister of Education, the Audit Bureau announced that it had detected irregularities in the printing and supply of school and technical textbooks, which led to delays in their delivery and, consequently, their failure to reach students.
In a statement, the Audit Bureau said that on October 19, it issued a decision subjecting all financial transactions related to the printing and supply of school and technical textbooks for the academic year (2025-2026) to concurrent auditing procedures.
It added, the decision was issued before the detection of the violations and irregularities, which were documented on October 27, “reflecting a proactive supervisory approach by the Bureau and its keenness to prevent any practices that may hinder supply operations or violate the principles of transparency and efficiency in public spending.”
Meanwhile, on 13 October, the now detained Acting Minister of Education, “honored” the supplying companies and printing presses that undertook the production and printing of school textbooks domestically and internationally.
The Ministry of education said in a statement that the “honoring” was “in appreciation of their efforts in fulfilling their tasks within the Ministry’s plan to secure the schools’ needs for textbooks for the 2025-2026 academic year.” During his speech, the Minister praised the significant role played by these companies in “adhering to the timelines and delivering the books on schedule,” despite the technical and logistical challenges they faced, the statement added.
The Acting Minister of Education in the GNU, Ali Al-Abed Abu Azoum, Left, and the Director General of the Educational Curricula and Research Center, Ali Al-Tabruri, visiting a textbooks’ warehouse in Tripoli days before their arrest. (Ministry of Education photo)
The now detained Acting Minister of Education meeting representatives of the textbooks supplying companies and printing presses before “honoring” them in a ceremony on 13 October 2025. (Ministry of Education photo)
(Ministry of Education photo)
(Ministry of Education photo)
(Ministry of Education photo)
