The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Network of National Anti-Corruption Institutions in West Africa (NACIWA), have resolved to recover all the stolen assets stolen from the region and taken to the Western world.
EFCC chairman and president of NACIWA, Mr Olanipekun Olukoyede, stated this yesterday in Abuja in an interview with newsmen at the 6th Annual General Assembly of NACIWA, with the theme: “Implementing the ECOWAS Protocol against Corruption towards Strengthening Institutions for Regional Unity”.
He said that the region was going to recover its stolen assets through the engagement of the operationalisation of the protocol on anti-corruption and asset recovery within the region and the Western world where the stolen assets are domiciled would be made to pay interest.
According to him, “The crux of this engagement is the operationalization of the protocol on anti-corruption within the ECOWAS sub-region. So this will bring collaboration and integration among us as a common force to fight corruption.
“Talking about the issue of assets because one of the highlights of this engagement is the development of the protocol for asset recovery. Of course, as you know, we’ve been using the existing United Nations protocol. We also have the EU protocol, which has come on board, but we just felt that those protocols didn’t address some peculiar needs of our sub-region.
“For example, you are aware of the issue of repatriation, which has become a major thing, now, a major outflow of assets and resources, out of Africa”.
Also, the chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr Musa Aliyu, said corruption must be stamped out of the region through collective effort.
According to him, all need to come together in a fight against corruption in the sub-region.
Also, the commissioner for political affairs, peace and security, ECOWAS, Amb. Abdel-Fatau Musah called for a collective effort to fight corruption in the region.
Musa noted that the EFCC had been a peace setter in fighting corruption in the region since its inception, and tangible results had been achieved through it.
