Buhari orders sale of forfeited assets within 6 months

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the composition of an Inter-Ministerial Committee on the Disposal of Federal Government of Nigeria’s Forfeited Assets with a mandate to dispose all forfeited assets within six months.

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, disclosed this in Abuja on Monday while inaugurating the 22-member inter-committee.

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Malami charged the committee to conduct investigation, tracing, seizure and disposal of stolen or illegally acquired assets and proceeds of crime in accordance with the Asset Tracing, Recovery and Management Regulations 2019 issued by his office.

He said the panel was set up in accordance with Buhari’s directive in October 2018 following the recommendations of the Presidential Audit Committee on Recovery and Management of Stolen Assets because of the need for effective and efficient management of recovered assets as an interim measure pending the passage of the Proceeds of Crime Bill.

Malami listed the responsibilities of the committee to include, implementation of the provisions of the Asset Tracing Recovery and Management Regulations; ensure the transparency of the disposal of the Federal Government Final Forfeited Assets; ensure the synergy and collaboration between the AGF and law enforcement and anti-corruption agencies other relevant MDAs and non-governmental organisations in the collation of records of all assets.

Others are to put in place information flow on assets; respond to ongoing Asset Management Audit and the asset performance reports; consistently implement enablers and controls that support decision making and efficiency of service delivery which govern the disposal of assets; and development of targets for the committee in order to measure performance.

The chairman of the committee and permanent secretary in the Federal Ministry of Justice, Dayo Apata, described the event as “Another milestone in the new frontiers being charted by the AGF beyond the conventional responsibilities of prosecution, defending or representing by the federal government and its MDAs in litigations and proffering legal opinion.”