The Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) has said Federal Government’s non-conviction recoveries have hit N1 trillion under President Muhammadu Buhari.
At a briefing yesterday in Lagos on the committee’s activities in five years, the committee’s Chairman, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), said its advisories resulted in the whistleblower policy and the corporate property verification by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), amongst others.
“We issued an advisory on re-opening of investigation into some abandoned high-profile cases, for instance, Malabu oil case.
“The pursuit of recovery of proceeds of crime involved in the case has yielded results.
“So far, the Federal Government has recovered $73 million in the United Kingdom (U.K) from the case.
“Other recoveries have been made from foreign jurisdictions, including from the United States of America (U.S.A), Switzerland and the Island of Jersey,” he said.
PACAC Executive Secretary, Prof. Sadiq Isah Radda, said the committee would propose an amendment to the constitution to enable judges elevated to higher courts to conclude part-heard cases before them.
This, he said, would eliminate delays caused by trials starting de-novo (afresh).
Sagay described the fight against corruption in Nigeria as “both sweet and sour”.
“This is because while some milestones have been reached, there is a lot of work still to be done to rid Nigeria of corruption,” he said.
Highlighting PACAC’s contributions to the anti-graft war, the eminent lawyer said the committee had exceeded the expectations of the Federal Government and donors.
“On capacity building alone, we have conducted over 60 activities, many workshops and seminars for the Judiciary, from the Magistracy to appellate courts. Other beneficiaries include prosecutors and the anti-corruption agencies.
“This has resulted in these stakeholders having an improved understanding of their individual roles in the criminal justice system, both in its substantive and procedural aspects.
“The impact of this effort is reflected in an increased number of cases filed and concluded and the improvement in the rate of conviction of looters.
“The impact of the strategy workshops on non-conviction based asset recovery has been amazing.
“Total recoveries are hovering around the N1 trillion mark, and even more remarkably these recoveries have been recycled into the budget to uplift the oppressed and most vulnerable victims of corruption,” Sagay said.
