MEDIATRACNET
The Nigerian government is collaborating with various jurisdictions around the world in its efforts to recover stolen assets stashed abroad by corrupt public officers, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has said.
Malami disclosed this at the ninth session of the Conference of States Parties to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) in Sharm El Sheik, Egypt.
The minister’s spokesperson, Umar Gwandu, said on Monday that the essence of the collaborations was to further highlight the importance of beneficial ownership transparency policy introduced by the government.
Malami said Nigeria, together with Pakistan, State of Palestine, Peru, Saudi Arabia and Kenya submitted a draft resolution entitled: “Enhancing Access to, and Use of, Beneficial Ownership Information” to facilitate the identification, recovery and return of assets.
He said significant progress has been recorded in the efforts to combat corruption in all ramifications in Nigeria.
“We will continue to make significant progress in our efforts to prevent and combat corruption, block leakages and recover our stolen assets,’’ Malami said.
He recalled that new laws and acts were enacted by the Nigerian government to better combat corruption in the country.
An effective Criminal Justice System, he said, was necessary for investigation and sanctioning of corruption.
Nigeria, he said, was implementing the Justice Sector Reform Strategy and was actively involved in International Cooperation Mechanisms, Mutual Legal Assistance and reform of the Criminal Justice System.
“We recently enacted a Mutual Legal Assistance Law in line with the recommendations from the UNCAC review, and also enacted the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit Act, to create a stand-alone Financial Intelligence Unit,” he said. (NAN)
