Management of recovered assets

Revelation that over 2,000 assets confiscated from politically exposed persons, civil servants and other individuals are rotting away is not just alarming, it underscores the lack of political will and fluttering anti-corruption campaign of the Federal Government. Given also the huge loss the country is garnering as a result of the mismanagement of the assets, President Muhammadu Buhari has an onerous duty to address the gaping deficits, as the only course to redeem the waning reputation of his administration in this regard.

The assets, comprising residential and commercial buildings, sea vessels, fuel-laden tankers, exotic cars, valuable jewelry, etc, were seized by anti-graft agencies from several persons including the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke; and the late Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh. The properties, which are scattered across the federation, are reportedly either dilapidated, no longer serviceable, badly damaged, plundered, vandalised, or completely damaged for want of proper management.

Failure of the Federal Government to effectively manage the situation is a crass demonstration of a lack of political will to do the right thing, considering the avalanche of relevant laws and regulations. Surely, Nigeria with her harsh economic realities cannot afford the luxury of ignoring such a viable revenue stream. Equally worrisome is that the country is losing about N4tr on these assets. Sadly, this lose-lose situation will linger until the government is willing to do the needful.

The crux of the issue remains the nonchalance of the ruling class towards good governance. This explains why corruption has been identified as the major hindrance to an effective asset management framework. It does appear that officials charged with the duty of managing the recovered assets are responsible for the current defective structure. Some of them have been entangled in allegations bordering on corrupt practices such as diversion and illegal sale of recovered assets, and failure to render a proper account, among others. An unresolved case in point is the investigation of the former acting Chairman of the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, by the Justice Ayo Salami panel set up by the Federal Government over alleged failure to account for 332 out of the 836 properties recovered by the EFCC up to March 2018. Till date, the panel’s report has not been made public.

The country’s slow-paced justice administration is another impediment to seamless asset recovery and management process. The assets under discourse are mainly suspected proceeds of crime; hence can only be legitimately disposed of upon the orders of court. But judicial proceedings usually stretch over several years thereby putting the government in a fix on how to handle interim forfeited assets pending the final determination of such lawsuits.

Notably, the current administration has somewhat made attempts to strengthen the asset recovery and management drive. For instance, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (AGF), initiated the suspension of Mr. Magu in 2019 to pave way for his investigation by the Presidential Committee on Audit of Recovered Assets and the Judicial Commission of Inquiry chaired by Honorable Justice Ayo Salami (rtd). Similarly, the AGF framed the Asset Tracing, Recovery and Management Regulations in 2019, and also inaugurated an inter-ministerial committee on forfeited assets in November 2020. Collaboratively, the House of Representatives constituted an Ad Hoc Committee on Assessment and Status of All Recovered Loots, Movable and Immovable Assets from 2002 to 2020 by Agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria for effective, efficient Management and utilisation.

However, a critical assessment of this administration’s behavioural pattern in recent years cast serious doubt on its anti-corruption stance. Even the President has lamented that “corruption is fighting back.” Therefore, to argue that the government has simply been playing to the gallery may not be out of place. The pardon granted two former state governors who were serving jail terms for financial crime speaks volume of government’s suspicious commitment to fighting corruption. More embarrassing is the invalidation of the Asset Tracing, Recovery and Management Regulations by the Federal High Court. The Court held that the Regulations were, “ultra vires the office and powers,” of the AGF and consequently, all sales and disposals made pursuant thereto were nullified. Is the Chief Law Officer ignorant of his constitutional limitations? Or were the Regulations promulgated ab initio for window-dressing and not necessarily for repairing the damaged legal framework? Nigerians are also wondering whether Mr. Magu will be brought to account following the Justice Salami investigative panel report, or, as Magu said, is corruption fighting back, and government is still grandstanding? The silence of the government is not only deafening, Magu’s subsequent elevation to the rank of Assistant Inspector General and subsequent retirement raise curiosity and challenge the credibility of the panel. Overall the handling of the matter makes mockery of the anti-corruption fight. Government, by this omission is the chief enabler and aider of corruption.
Sadly, while the country wallows in poverty, recovered assets worth trillions of naira are rotting away under government watch. In November 2021, the House of Representatives raised alarm when it discovered that some of the 90 ships seized by the EFCC had begun to sink in waters across the country. Similarly, the colossal edifice housing the former Federal Secretariat at Ikoyi is on the brink of collapse and there is no immediate solution in sight. Furthermore, the fact that this dereliction of duty of the officers-in-charge is never greeted with any punitive sanctions speaks to our culture of waste and zero maintenance.

Interestingly, the various anti-graft laws make provisions for the effective management and disposal of forfeited properties, suggesting that a workable and transparent mechanism is no rocket science. However, corruption will continue to be a stumbling block until severely dealt with.

Instructively, the recently enacted Proceeds of Crime Act 2022 raises hope. This Act provides for an effective institutional framework for the recovery and management of the proceeds of crime. It also establishes the Proceeds of Crime Management Directorate (“the Directorate”) in relevant anti-graft organisations such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission; the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission; the Nigerian Police Force; and such other organisations as the Attorney General of the Federation may designate from time to time. Once a property is under investigation, the directorate has the exclusive power to take over and assume responsibility for the same subject to specific orders of the court. This is to ensure that such assets remain viable pending the expiration of cases and appeals.

While this latest legislative intervention is a welcome development, it will be meaningless unless government musters the appropriate political will to use it for all practical purposes. It may be ideal to create an independent body for proper and effective management of all properties forfeited to the Federal Government. A uniform framework will allow for an efficient traceable, accountable and transparent asset recovery, management and disposal process. Also, it would make the anti-graft organisations more focused on their core responsibilities of crime prevention, investigation, and prosecution rather than ancillary issues.