Where Are Confiscated Assets?

A high court recently granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFFC) permission to freeze N33 billion worth of illicit assets allegedly acquired by two former Police Pension Office officials being tried for alleged pension theft. Larger assets have been seized from a bank boss, Mrs Cecilia Ibru: she forfeited hundreds of property across the world worth N191 billion to the EFCC, following her six-month conviction in October 2010. Former Edo State governor Lucky Igbinedion also surrendered property and funds worth billions of naira to the commission after he was convicted in 2011 for stealing state funds as governor. And, early this year, self-confessed police pension thief Yakubu Yusuf gave up 32 prime property to the government.

The pertinent question now is: what has happened to these and other assets forfeited to the government by suspects successfully prosecuted by anti-corruption agencies like the EFCC and the ICPC? While the media report on certain property forfeitures as announced by the EFCC via its official statements, the anti-graft agency has not given commensurate publicity to how it has been treating the forfeited assets. Many Nigerians believe that the seized property are simply being “re-looted” by those in the anti-graft system, their masters and cronies in a vicious circle that leaves the country worse off.

While no case of actual “re-looting” of seized assets has come to light thus far, the climate of doubt that has apparently descended on this all-important national issue needs to be dispelled immediately. Transparency in the process of selling all confiscated property and funds by anti-corruption agencies should be a logical end to the widespread media coverage received by the trial and conviction of economic criminals; it is sine qua non to the success of the country’s anti-corruption campaign.

 In the light of the foregoing, we demand that all anti-corruption agencies make full disclosures of all assets forfeited to the government through them on their official websites and in the print and electronic media without further delay. The disclosure should be explicit enough and include the revenue, if any, that these forfeited assets have generated for the country since they arrived in government custody. If any of these seized assets has been sold, we demand that the anti-graft agency involved indicate how much it was sold and to whom. This will dispel the widespread belief that the convicted former owners went behind to buy back these confiscated property using proxies. The transparent treatment of all tangible property as demanded here should also extend to frozen bank accounts and the funds therein.

The anti-graft campaign is losing traction. No amount of chest-beating by the agencies would convince citizens about their sincerity of purpose. An honest public rendition of their accounts is the breath of life the anti-corruption war needs now.