The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has been urged to stop looters from recovering their loot in the ongoing auction of seized and forfeited assets the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on Assessment and Status of All Recovered Loot Movable and Immovable Assets from 2002 to 2020 by Agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Adejoro Adeogun, the chairman of the committee, mentioned the risk of thieves reclaiming the forfeited assets through a proxy while noting that his panel had already urged swift disposal of recovered loot, particularly fixed assets.
Despite the transactions, according to Adeogun, the committee would still conduct its probe.
Despite the transactions, according to Adeogun, the committee would still conduct its probe.
On December 6, 2022, the EFCC began inspecting and selling 649 forfeited vehicles that were spread out over nine states and the Federal Capital Territory using designated auctioneers.
15 boats and barges in the states of Rivers, Delta, and Lagos, as well as roughly 39 cell phones, 11 laptops, and other items, were also up for auction.
The EFCC had listed for auction 144 luxury homes and lands seized from convicted politicians, public officials, business moguls, and internet fraudsters as proceeds of their corrupt practices, which ranged from money laundering and fraud to misappropriation of funds and fraudulent diversion, among other things.
However, Adeogun lamented that the House lacked the authority to decide how the assets should be sold or to whom they should be sold in an interview with our correspondent on Tuesday.
The legislator said that until a new administration assumes office in a few months, the assets shouldn’t be abandoned.
In addition to delivering an interim report to the House, Adeogun claimed that his committee had completed “most of what we need to do,” adding that the final report would be presented following the general elections.
The auction of the assets at the center of the investigation had initially been resisted by committee members.
