A central database for the management of recovered assets has been launched on Thursday in Abuja by the Nigerian government.
Speaking at the launch, Nigeria’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, said that all the assets that had been recovered by the government would now be tied to specific projects.
“What we are witnessing today is a product of our commitments, as a government towards the fight against corruption with particular reference to our membership of international organisations, inclusive of financial action taskforce, open government partnership targeted at deepening transparency within this context of United Nations Convention Against Corruption.
“The database that will be put in place will ensure uniformity of process and real time access and information feeding,” he said.
The minister, who noted that without the central database, it would be difficult to know the exact figures of recovered assets, disclosed that since 2018, President Buhari has included recovered assets in the budget, and that there are tied to specific infrastructural projects, including the Kano-Abuja Expressway, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and the 2nd Niger Bridge, amongst others.
In his speech, the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, said that all anti-corruption agencies should be digitised and integrated for easy access.
According to him, the idea of the central database system is to ensure that all anti-corruption agencies harmonise all recovered assets.
It will be recalled that Malami had in December 2019 said that a central database would be created for the management of recovered assets stolen from the country.
The launch was attended by officials from many government agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
GIK/APA