The Federal Government has
set up a presidential
committee to investigate
high-profile corruption cases
allegedly compromised by
the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission.
The committee, which is
under the office of the
Attorney General of the
Federation and Minister of
Justice, Mr. Abubakar
Malami, is broadly named
Presidential Committee on
Verification of Assets.
Our correspondent learnt
that the committee, which
had yet to be inaugurated
as of Tuesday, had been
split into three sub
committees.
One of the subcommittees is
primarily charged with the
verification of looted assets
recovered by the EFCC while
another subcommittee will
have similar focus on
recovered loot by the
Independent Corrupt
Practices and other related
offences Commission.
The third subcommittee,
according to a source in the
Federal Ministry of Justice,
will probe the alleged fraud
in the nation’s pension
scheme.
A document obtained from a
source in the ministry on
Tuesday by our
correspondent shows that in
addition to verifying
recovered assets, one of the
subcommittees will probe
petitions alleging corruption
against individuals and
organisations whose cases
were either compromised by
the EFCC or not investigated
at all.
The tasks of the
subcommittees, according to
the document, are, “To
identify all parties that
engaged in conspiratorial
fraudulent activities at EFCC
that led to financial loss to
the FGN;
“To analyse petitions
submitted to the EFCC
against persons and
organisations in billions of
naira that were not
investigated or investigated
and compromised by the
EFCC hence caused
collateral economic loss to
the FGN;
“To analyse all cases the
EFCC took over from other
agencies or investigated
with other agencies, and
report the actual and
collateral loss to the FGN;
“To assess the EFCC’s
standing procedure on
seizures, forfeitures,
management of seized
properties, remittances etc;
“To verify all assets seized
by the EFCC and/or forfeited
by criminal suspects to the
EFCC onshore and offshore;
“To verify all remittances by
the EFCC to the FGN;
“To reconcile assets seized
and/or forfeited vis-a-vis
assets remitted to the FGN;
“To identify and audit all
bank accounts opened by
the EFCC and all bank
accounts seized from
criminal suspects onshore
and offshore from inception
to date, among others.”
Malami had, in his address
during his maiden press
conference on November 19,
2015 in Abuja, given a hint
about the activities of the
asset verification committee
when he said suspected
compromise in investigation
of high-profile cases would
be probed.
The minister had said his
administration would
undertake an audit of high-
profile corruption cases “so
that those who are found
wanting through the
compromise of investigation
and prosecution processes
shall be prosecuted”.
Other major tasks given to
the committee include “to
report the total balance of
tangible and intangible
assets remittable from EFCC
to FGN; and
“To engage forensic
accountants, auditors,
lawyers, professionals etc.
to assist in analysing and
reconciling all financial
records, procuring vital
records etc.”
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