The Senate will soon enact a law establishing a centralised body known as Assets Recovery Agency that will manage assets and properties recovered from unlawful activities. Already, the bill to that effect, which seeks to amend the Proceeds of Crime(Recovery of Assets and Management) Act 2022, has scaled second reading and referred to the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters for further legislative work (if necessary) within few weeks.
The existing framework assigns the powers of investigation, prosecution and management responsibilities to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS). But the coordination, transparency of these duties by the EFCC and ICPC in particular, has reportedly been questioned. The bill, sponsored by Senator Idiat Oluranti Adebule, representing Lagos West, is seeking to improve the transparency, accountability and efficiency in handling recovered assets by removing asset management from the agencies currently overseeing it. This includes prosecution of suspected looters, and property management under the existing laws.
The existing Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act 2022(POCA), provides a framework for the recovery and management of assets derived from unlawful activities, whether or not a conviction has been secured. It also aims to “effectively detect, investigate, and recover assets, as well as proceeds, instrumentalities and unclaimed properties, suspected to be linked to criminal activities.” Also, the existing law establishes the Proceeds of Crime Management Directorate (PCMD) in relevant organisations, with exclusive powers to manage forfeited properties and shifts the burden of proof to the suspects to show the lawful origin of the property allegedly acquired through proceeds of crime. All of this comes in the wake of recent discovery and seizure of 753 houses in Abuja, allegedly belonging to the ousted ex-governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.
Supporters of the bill have argued that the present arrangement has not fully benefited the country as the EFCC, ICPC, tasked with the management of the recovered unlawful properties, operate “independently without a standardized mode of engagement.” Under the 2022 Act, each of the agencies has been found to have established their own directorate, resulting in duplication of roles, lack of synergy and inadequate safeguards for recovered properties.
In principle, the move to establish a centralised Assets Recovery Agency is a step in the right direction. The management and sale of such assets should be handled by professionals with impeccable integrity. In the past, there were allegations that recovered assets were either re-looted or sold to cronies of the anti-graft agency officials or party loyalists. Under the proposed amendments, such pitfalls should be avoided and culprits severely punished. If it is efficiently and effectively managed, the new agency will likely restore public confidence in the nation’s assets recovery system, clearer policies and uniform guidelines for handling and disposal of forfeited assets.
Therefore, an automated forfeited assets management system and a central database to track all seized and recovered assets must be put in place. This will ensure that investigation and prosecuting agencies will focus squarely on tracking and recovery, while asset management is handled exclusively by a separate institution. Such models have been proved effective in managing looted property in countries like Australia, United Kingdom (UK), the United States (US) and South Africa. In these countries, the responsibility of prosecution and the management of forfeited assets are distinct and seamlessly streamlined.
Under the existing law, there has been reported malfeasance in the operational system of EFCC, ICPC and other anti-graft agencies that must be checked by the proposed Assets Recovery Agency. We believe that the new agency will rid the system of the extant high level corruption. However, let it not be used to witch-hunt the opposition or perceived enemies of the government.
Unfortunately, the EFCC has often been accused of being a willing tool of the government in power. This has eroded public confidence in its avowed impartiality in its investigation and prosecution of high profile corruption cases. Nigeria needs an agency with a tighter oversight duties of assets recovered from official corruption. The proposed Asset Recovery Agency must be transparent and accountable in its operations. Like Caesar’s wife, its officials must live above board. The abuses usually associated with the management of recovered assets should be done away with.