FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WILL SPEND $320 MILLION ABACHA LOOT ON VULNERABLES,SAYS BUHARI
The President lamented the absence of a legal basis for cooperation in some countries, differences in legal and procedural frameworks, language barriers, bank secrecy, jurisdictional issues, a lack of funding as obstacles to effective mutual legal assistance.
Penpushing further reports that, he expressed satisfaction on the renewed commitment to collectively identifying the most effective means of overcoming all of the existing legal and technical obstacles to asset recovery and return.
He urged African countries to come together to keep the issue of asset recovery and return on the front-burner of international discourse and also work hard to build cooperation and mutual understanding with global partners.
“We must insist that recovered stolen assets be returned to the country of origin, without any preconditions, in line with Article 51 of United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC),’’ he added.
Speaking further, Buhari said that states should agree to apply the highest standards possible of transparency at all stages not just of the recovery and return process, but also in the management and disposal of recovered and repatriated assets, calling on governments of African States to adequately fund their anti-corruption agencies as the fight against corruption was far more sophisticated, vicious and nuanced than ever before.
“We must provide adequate resources to investigate, adequately equip operatives, protect their families, protect whistleblowers and witnesses. Let me say to you Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Commonwealth Africa that you have found yourselves in roles that could change the destinies of your nation if you deliver on your mandates. You simply cannot afford to fail; on our part as the Government of Nigeria we are irrevocably committed to the fight against corruption,’’ the president declared.
