The Federal Government on Monday officially inaugurated a 22 member committee to sell of both movable and immovable assets recovered as a result of the anti-corruption efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. The inauguration was presided over by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami who urged the committee to be diligent in their duties. Malami said “Your mandate is to ensure the expedient disposal of all FGN Forfeited Assets and generate revenue for the Federal Government of Nigeria. I wish to implore the inter-ministerial committee to work as a formidable team with the relevant agencies in accordance with extant laws and regulations.”
The AGF also urged the committee to utilize “the Asset Tracing, Recovery and Management (ATRM) Regulations, 2019, the Standard Operating Procedures and Terms of Reference” as a guideline and tool to sell off illegal assets.
This regulation provides a legal and administrative framework for the investigation, tracing, seizure and disposal of stolen or illegally acquired assets.
The committee’s Chairman; Solicitor General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Justice, Dayo Apata (SAN) said the committee would be transparent and accountable in its task.
Apata urged all assets recovery agencies to immediately send records of recovered assets to the committee’s secretariat, which is the ATRM unit under the office of the AGF.
The committee was given 6 months to conclude their assignment and members were drawn from relevant agencies involved in the recovery and disposal of Federal Government of Nigeria’s assets.
Committee members were drawn from the office of the Chief of Staff to the President, Federal Ministry of Justice, Federal Ministry of Finance, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Auditor General of the Federation, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC).
Others are: Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria Police Force (NPF), the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Nigeria Security Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), National Oil Spillage, Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) and the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).
Others to work on the committee are representatives of a youth organization, the media and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and “any other Nigerian with exceptional expertise that could add value to the committee as deems fit by the AGF.”
