A probe may be underway on the alleged ownership of a total of 266 properties in Dubai, the United Arab Emirate, by 13 top security officials in Nigeria.
This is sequel to a report on illicit financial flows submitted on Wednesday, March 31, to the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, by a coalition of Nigerian Civil Society Organizations led by the Human and Environmental Development Agenda, HEDA.
It was learnt that the report linked 266 properties in the UAE to 13 top officials in the Nigerian security community, just as it traced 800 properties in Dubai to Nigerians.
“On behalf of the Human and Environmental Development Agenda, (HEDA Resource Centre), several civil society groups and foreign technical partners, the reports were handed over to the EFCC Chairman, Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa, in Abuja by Prof Gbenga Oduntan of Kent Law School, University of Kent, United Kingdom, lead researcher that conducted the investigation into the discovery of the loot”, the coalition said on Thursday.
Olanrewaju Suraj Chairman, HEDA who spoke on behalf of the Coalition at the meeting with Bawa on Wednesday, said they were in the EFCC headquarters to formally present a report on ‘Fixing Nigeria’s Illicit Financial Flows’, compiled by Professor Gbenga Oduntan of Kent University, in support of the anti-corruption mandate of the EFCC.
He explained that the group was motivated to “stop the flow of funds out of Nigeria”, and the 316 page report was “part of our contribution to your clear determination to go after suspicious assets.”
Bawa, who received report, assured that the EFCC will go after those involved in illicit financial flow in line with his commitment to fight corruption, while emphasizing the need o make it not attractive for people to steal.
“I want to assure you, that we are going to study the report to add value to those areas where it is within our mandate; we will look at it and ensure that justice is done. The country has been cheated for quite a long time, people saddled with the responsibility of governance in this country have succeeded in doing it selfishly by taking these funds out of the shores of this country.
It is one thing for properties to be taken to the UAE and the UK, it is another thing that we here in Nigeria are ensuring that you don’t have the opportunity to take them out in the first instance. That is why we want to be proactive in our approach to law enforcement and the fight against corruption in this country.
And then of course part of our mandate to ensure that proceeds of crime are identified and repatriated for the benefit of all Nigerians. It is not an easy task; it is something that cut across jurisdictions. UK, UAE have their own laws, processes and procedures, but we have a lot of bilateral and multi-lateral agreements that we are signatories to; to discuss about issues of information sharing, investigation as well as repatriation of ill-gotten assets”.
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