The Federal Government has asked the United Kingdom and other countries to provide intelligence on the assets of corrupt Nigerian politicians abroad for onward confiscation and recovery.
The Special Assistant to the President on Financial Crimes and Public Prosecution Compliance, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), made the appeal at the Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crimes in the UK which ended on September 8, 2024.
Oyedepo, who is attached to the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), said the Federal Government is ready to work diplomatically with other nations to recover Nigeria’s commonwealth stolen by corrupt politicians and stashed across the world.
He said, “The problem of recovery of unlawful assets is not internal but external. The majority of the proceeds of corruption are not invested in Nigeria. They are being transferred abroad to acquire properties and properties are littered everywhere across the globe.
“I am using this opportunity to extend hands of fellowship to you that in as much as you are using our Central Authority Unit to request assistance, when we send assistance to you, please reciprocate.
“When you see assets from somebody you know is politically exposed, and if you cannot commence the process of recovering it in your state (country), you can transfer such information to us and we will work together diplomatically and we will ensure that your nation and our nation will not be readily available to integrate proceeds of unlawful activities.”
Oyedepo, who also doubles as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) prosecutor, said Nigeria has enough liquid framework to trace and recover illegal and unlawful activities.
“In Nigeria, there are conviction-based forfeiture proceedings and there is also non-conviction-based forfeiture proceedings,” he told the gathering.
(Independent)
