Nigeria is placing assets in 25 locations across the country including jewelries worth millions of dollars from former minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezanu Alison-Madueke, forefeited due to corruption, for sale.
The assets, checks by Platforms Africa showed, included mansion seized from former Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Mr. Alex Badeh.
The inter-ministerial committee on the disposal of assets forfeited to the federal government, has commenced the process of selling final forfeited assets in 25 locations across the country.
Chairman of the committee, Dayo Apata, made this known on Tuesday at a press conference.
President Muhammadu Buhari had on November 9, inaugurated the following a presidential directive of October 27, recognising the need for the office of the attorney-general of the federation to coordinate a common platform for the recovery, management and sale of all assets forfeited to the federal government.
Apata said the assets recovery and disposal process are part of the administration of criminal justice.
According to him, the committee comprised of representatives from the presidency, police, navy, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), as well as ministries of finance, justice, works and housing, among others, is working towards completing its assignment within six months.
Some of the assets to be sold include landed properties, plants, machinery, motor vehicles, jewelry, etc.
“It needs to be emphasized that asset recovery and disposal constitutes an integral part of the administration of criminal justice which are all within the purview of the Hon. Attorney-General of the Federation,” he said.
The Committee is working assiduously to complete its assignment within the six (6) months’ time frame as spelt out in the presidential directive and is guided by the Asset Tracing, Recovery and Management Regulations, 2019, Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and its Terms of Reference (TOR).
“The composition of the Committee reflects a fair spread across relevant MDAs. It is interesting to note that the composition of the Committee cuts across institutions not only involved in the asset recovery but also institutions with special skills, competences and oversight of security over the assets.”
He said the committee seeks to put an end to poor management and wastage of assets which prevents government from realizing the full benefits of the forfeiture.
