Godwin Tsa Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the sale of all Federal Government forfeited assets within the next six months.
Attorney General and Minister of Justice (AGF), Abubakar Malami, stated this yesterday while inaugurating a 22-member Inter-Ministerial Committee to supervise the sales of forfeited assets.
He said the composition of the committee was approved by President Muhammadu Buhari on October 27 and that they had six months to complete their assignment.
He said members were drawn from relevant agencies that dealt with recovery and disposal of government assets.
The minister said the committee, headed by the Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. Dayo Apata, had the mandate to ensure the expedient disposal of all forfeited assets and to generate revenue for the Federal Government.
“You may recall that pursuant to Mr. President’s directive in October, 2018 following the recommendations of the Presidential Audit Committee on Recovery and Management of Stolen Assets, there was the need for an effective and efficient management of recovered assets, as an interim measure, pending the passage of the Proceeds of Crime Bill. In compliance with the directives of Mr. President, the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice issued Asset Tracing, Recovery and Management Regulations, 2019 to provide legal and administrative frameworks for the investigation, tracing, seizure and disposal of stolen or illegally acquired assets and proceeds of crime.
“The regulation was drawn from the extant laws of relevant anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies. It is aimed at ensuring proper coordination of the disposal of the Federal Government assets and for promoting a uniform, harmonised and transparent procedure to safeguard the assets recovered by the relevant agencies in line with the anti-corruption drive of this administration,” Malami said.
He listed the responsibilities of the committee to include implementation of provisions of the ATRM regulations, ensuring the transparency of the disposal of Federal Government final forfeited assets, ensuring synergy and collaboration between the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice and law enforcement and anti-corruption agencies.
Members of the committee include representatives from the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President; Auditor-General of the Federation; Economic and Financial Crimes Commission; Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission; army, police, navy, federal ministries of justice, finance, works and housing;Nigeria Security Civil Defence Corps; Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency; Department of State Security; National Drug Law Enforcement Agency; Department of Petroleum Resources; National Oil Spillage, Detection and Response Agency and Bureau of Public Procurement. Others include representatives of the Civil Society Organisation, youths and media.