CSO, Media, Lawyers Move To Tackle Illicit Asset Ownership In Nigeria

As part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the fight against corruption in Nigeria, the Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity (CeFTPI), a civil society organisation, has raised awareness on asset declaration and recovery under Nigeria’s Asset Regime.

Speaking at a workshop in Kaduna tagged ‘An Assessment of Nigeria’s Asset Recovery Regime’, the Executive Director of the Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity (CeFTPI), Umar Yakubu, said corruption remains one of the biggest challenges facing the country, adding that asset tracing and recovery is a crucial tool in the fight against corruption.

He emphasized that many public officials in Nigeria are in possession of assets far exceeding their lawful earnings.

He said, “No public servant should be earning more than N200 million annually, yet we see assets worth billions. That’s a red flag and a clear indication of illegally acquired wealth.”

Yakubu said the Centre has developed a publicly accessible asset recovery database, which documents assets recovered so far and highlights gaps in recovery efforts.

He called on journalists and lawyers nationwide to leverage existing legal frameworks, including the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, to expose illicit wealth and support law enforcement agencies in recovering looted public assets.

“We need journalists to report these anomalies and lawyers to ensure the legal mechanisms are in place to hold people accountable. These assets belong to Nigerians and must be used for the public good,” he said.

Also, Comrade Gambo Santos Sanga, Secretary of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Kaduna State Council, described the workshop as timely, especially in the current democratic dispensation.

“As media practitioners, we are the architects of society. We must redouble our efforts. The era of saying ‘if in doubt, leave out’ is over. If we are in doubt, we must find out”.

He urged journalists to embrace investigative journalism and fully utilise the digital era to track government budgets, monitor project implementation, and expose duplications and diversions.

Earlier in his remarks, Barrister Baba Lawal Aliyu of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Kaduna Branch, described the symposium as timely and urged members of the media and legal professions to recommit themselves to the duty of holding power to account.

He emphasised the need for media professionals to follow budget lines, engage government agencies, and expose misappropriations.