Get Guardian on GoogleAfrica Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) and other stakeholders have identified fragmented agency databases, weak reporting compliance and limited public access to asset recovery records as gaps in Nigeria’s asset recovery data management system.
Speaking during a stakeholder briefing in Abuja, ANEEJ Executive Director David Ugolor said these gaps could undermine transparency and accountability in managing recovered public resources.
The comparative analysis report, themed “Peer Learning from Different Jurisdictions on Data Management in Asset Recovery,” brought together participants from the Federal Ministry of Justice/Asset Recovery and Management Unit, relevant organisations listed in POCA, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, civil society, and the media.
He noted that though Nigeria had established a legal framework for asset recovery through the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act, 2022, challenges remained in implementing a coordinated and transparent data management system.
He explained that recovering assets was only an aspect of the process, stressing that relevant institutions, courts, citizens and development partners needed reliable information on assets identified, frozen, seized or forfeited, their location, management and eventual utilisation.
Therefore, he called for stronger inter-agency coordination, improved legal enforcement and greater public access to information on recovered assets.
Noting that Nigeria has a substantial legal foundation, he said that “the database is not yet available to the public through a user-friendly portal, and the legal basis for requiring every agency to report to a single national database needs authoritative clarification.”
According to him, the absence of a common asset identification system, standardised procedures for recording case milestones and effective reconciliation of records with court orders, physical custody and the Confiscated and Forfeited Properties Account are areas requiring attention.
Also, an Associate Professor of Defence and Security Studies at the Nigerian Defence Academy, Dr Adejoh Sunday, said Nigeria had made progress in asset recovery but needed stronger mechanisms to ensure compliance with data reporting requirements.
Sunday said the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act provides for about 20 organisations with responsibilities relating to asset recovery.
He called for a centralised database management system that would provide a one-stop source of information for interested parties seeking details of recovered assets, saying that the fragmented databases maintained by agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Nigeria Customs Service, are a major obstacle to effective coordination.
Among others, the Country Director of Accountability Lab Nigeria, Ode Friday, called for stronger collaboration among the Ministry of Justice, EFCC, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and other institutions involved in asset recovery.
