The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, has referred to as for pressing and unconditional return of Nigerian stolen property stashed in international international locations.
According to an announcement posted on the fee’s X deal with on Wednesday, Olukoyede made this name on Tuesday, on the ongoing tenth session of the Conference of State Parties to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption holding on the Georgia World Congress Centre, Atlanta, United States of America.
According to him, the return of stolen property warehoused in international international locations has change into crucial for the expansion of the economic system and enlargement of frontiers of improvement inside and out of doors Nigeria.
Olukoyede mentioned, “We want the cooperation of all of the international locations which are custodians or accountable for warehousing all these stolen property from Africa.
“It has change into extraordinarily necessary for us to see you as our collaborators, as international locations that help us within the battle towards corruption.
“Now, whenever you have a look at corruption, it has change into a transnational crime. If you’re holding on to these property, you’re creating very tough authorized hurdles in recovering these property. You are not directly encouraging the perpetrators of the crimes we’re speaking about.
“And when you encourage it in Africa, it has a tendency of affecting you too, because the kind of financial crimes we are talking about have become global in nature. So, it has become important for you to cooperate with us.”
He additional reiterated the necessity for the worldwide group to help Nigeria’s efforts in the direction of asset restoration, including, “we will only be able to see you as a friend if you are willing to support us in recovering such assets that have been traced to your jurisdiction”.
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