Other Countries Won’t Return Loots Because EFCC, ICPC Reloots Them —Saraki

Senate President, Bukola Saraki on Tuesday blamed anti-graft agencies for making things difficult to convince other nations to return funds looted from nation’s treasury. 

Saraki spoke at one day strategic retreat on tackling the progress of Anti-corruption bills in National Assembly.

He insisted that many assets recovered were re-looted by the anti-corruption agencies in Nigeria. 

Saraki was  represented by the Deputy leader of the Senate, Bala Na’Allah.

Speaking, he said: ” Nigeria is finding it difficult to convince other nations to return funds looted from our treasury.  

“This is because of other nations’ exasperation over the management of returned assets.

“Only recently,  Mr. President inaugurated a committee to audit all assets recovered by various government agencies. 

“The National Assembly has been strident about the opacity shrouding the management of recovered funds, which in many cases get reported by the agencies that investigated and recovered them. 

“An Ad-hoc committee of the Senate, which is investigating some administrative infraction in the Executive,  has discovered that many properties recovered from fugitive from the law, have not been accounted for by the investigating agency.  

“This gives global community great concern about the commitment of Nigeria to the anti-corruption drive. “

In his opening remarks,  the chairman of the committee, Senator Chukwuka Utazi stated that Nigeria’s struggle against entrenched corruption is a global concern.

Utazi, who expressed dissatisfaction with the suspension of the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units, said at a time Nigeria has made anti-corruption a cardinal policy of government. 

He added that the suspension greatly impedes fight against corruption in Nigeria. 

Utazi said: “The suspension activated the immediate shutdown of the EGMONT secure Web, ESW,  against Nigeria with the implication that Nigeria can no longer exchange sensitive information with about 172 other member countries in order to carry out investigative and regulatory responsibilities as they affect local and international bothering on money laundering, terrorism financing. 

“This is dreadful consequences on sharing criminal intelligence and financial information bothering on money laundering, terrorism financing, proliferation of arms,  corruption, financial crimes, economic crimes and such like offences geared towards the support of local and international investigations, prosecution and asset recovery.”

In his own remarks,  the Director of Africa network for Environment and Economic Justice,  (ANEEJ), Rev. David Ugolor disclosed that Swiss government and Nigeria government is at the final stage to return $321 million back to Nigeria from Abacha’s loot. 

According to him,  return of $321 million Abacha’s loot is at the final stage.  We want to commend the federal government for making sure that the country take recovery of Abacha’s loot.

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