The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr Ola Olukoyede, has called for legislation against unexplained wealth as a way of curbing the criminal activities of treasury looters in the country.
EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, in a statement quoted Olukoyede as making the call at a two-day international law conference organised by Christopher University, Mowe, Ogun State.
The theme of the conference was “Unexplained Wealth in the Global South: Examining the Trajectory of Asset Recovery and Return.”
Olukoyede said several countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Mauritius, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Trinidad and Tobago, had adopted the Unexplained Wealth Orders since it came into effect in 2018.
He said the EFCC still relied on the provisions of Section 7 of its Establishment Act to check the menace.
“The issue of unexplained wealth is not a local issue. There are jurisdictions all over the world that have laws to deal with it.
“To date, countries around the world have been confronted with crimes arising from money laundering practices and illicit funds. This circumstance led to the promulgation of the Unexplained Wealth Orders, which came into effect in 2018.
“Several countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Mauritius and African countries such as Kenya, Zimbabwe and Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean have come up with UWOs. Nigeria is yet to come up with a national legislation on it,” he said.
The EFCC boss, who was represented at the conference by the Abuja Zonal Commander, Assistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE1 Adebayo Adeniyi, stressed that if the issue of unexplained wealth was tackled more seriously around the world, looters of public funds would have little cover.
“In Nigeria today, unexplained wealth has become a practical means of tracing, identifying, investigating and prosecuting corruption cases.
“As an anti-graft agency, suspects of economic and financial crimes are usually required to declare their assets as part of the investigation.
“The basis for this is the proper determination of their true assets and their connection or otherwise to any act of corruption.
“In the absence of legislation on the issue of unexplained wealth, the EFCC continues to rely on the provisions of Section 7 of its Establishment Act to deal with it,” he said.
Olukoyede said the concern about unexplained wealth was more about tracing, investigation and recovery of assets.
“States are fast settling for non-conviction based asset forfeiture. The reason is simply that unexplained wealth can only be beneficial to the state if it is forfeited.
“Since its inception, the EFCC has recovered substantial assets from fraudsters. They range from houses, vehicles, barges, jewellery, money, furniture, landed properties among others,” he said.
Explaining further, the EFCC boss said, “Asset forfeiture proceedings usually involve the prosecution of the suspected fraudster, as assets may be forfeited on an interim basis or permanently, depending on the position of the law and the court.
“However, whether it is an interim forfeiture or a permanent forfeiture, what is important is that any ill-gotten wealth is recovered and forfeited to the government,” he said.
He urged the public to be forthcoming with information about suspicious assets in their various communities, saying the commission would only work better if intelligence and information were readily available.
Commenting on the realities of asset recovery in countries in the global South, Olukoyede noted that countries in the global South are still far from a culture of public accountability.
“Ethnic and religious prejudices often stand in the way of full disclosure by people in third world countries.
“This means that anti-corruption agencies can only work on the basis of the information available to them,” he said.
In discussing the hurdles to asset recovery in Nigeria, Olukoyede punctured the technicality of tracking looted assets, which sometimes requires publication in major newspapers.
“This takes time. Sometimes the delay can be caused by some fraudulent claims to frustrate the forfeiture process. In all these cases, the facts available to the court are paramount.
“In the end, assets are always permanently recovered for the benefit of all.
“The recovery of stolen assets hidden in foreign jurisdictions is also more complex. State institutions are usually involved in the recovery of such funds and this takes much more time and effort,” he added.
“The return process involved can even take years and this can be very frustrating for anti-corruption agencies or government institutions involved in the recovery.
“In Nigeria, we have such cases in the recovery of looted funds by many government officials,” he said.