* 鈥楾he public has a right to know how recovered N800 billion loot has been spent,鈥� says group

Isola Moses | 绿帽献妻

Demanding due process and transparency in the expenditures from the recovered looted funds and management of the nation鈥檚 commonwealth, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent a Freedom of Information (FoI) Act request to President Muhammadu Buhari to announce details of the loot recoveries thus far.

Specifically, the group has requested President Buhari 鈥渢o direct Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice and Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning to publish a comprehensive list of names of people from whom N800 billion in looted funds have been recovered, the details of spending of the money and the dates of the recovery,鈥� report says.

According to SERAP, the President should 鈥渄irect appropriate anti-corruption agencies to promptly, thoroughly and transparently investigate allegations that payments totalling N51 billion were made into individual accounts in 2019.鈥�

Recall that Mr. Ibrahim Magu, Acting Chairman of EFCC and Commissioner of Police, at a media briefing Thursday, June 11, 2020, to mark this year鈥檚 Democracy Day in Abuja, FCT, said that within the last five years, the anti-corruption Commission had seized many proceeds of crimes included estates, ships, petrol stations, schools, hotels, shopping malls and pieces of jewellery.

Magu had announced 鈥渨e have recovered assets in excess of N980billion and quite a large array of non-monetary assets like properties, estates, private jets, oil vessels, filling stations, schools; hotels; trucks and other automobiles; pieces of jewellery; plazas, shopping malls, electronics, among others.鈥�

Similarly, SERAP noted that in Buhari鈥檚 nationwide speech on the occasion of the Democracy Day June 12, he disclosed that 鈥渢he government鈥檚 anti-corruption fight has yielded over N800 billion in recovered loot.鈥�

The group also related that 鈥淏udgIT, a civic tech organisation, recently reported that the open treasury portal by the Federal Government has allegedly shown that payments totalling N51 billion were made into individual accounts in 2019.鈥�

SERAP, in a letter dated June 13, 2020, and signed by Kolawole Oluwadare, Deputy Director, stated: 鈥淧ublishing the details regarding the N800 billion recovered loot and investigating the alleged suspicious payments into personal accounts would be entirely consistent with fundamental principles of due process, and Nigeria鈥檚 international anti-corruption commitments.鈥�

According to the group in the letter copied to Mr. Malami and Mrs. Ahmed, 鈥渢he information will also reveal the truth of where the money is going and why it is there, and allow Nigerians an opportunity to assess the impacts of any projects carried out with the recovered loot and the alleged payments into individual accounts.鈥�

The letter read in part: 鈥淭he public has a right to know how recovered N800 billion loot has been spent, and the details and purpose of the alleged payments into individual accounts.

鈥淎s a signatory to the UN Convention against Corruption, the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption, and the African Charter on Human and Peoples鈥� Rights, Nigeria has committed to ensuring transparent management of public resources, and unhindered access to public information. These commitments ought to be fully upheld and respected.

鈥淭ransparency over transactions by the government is critical to ensuring public confidence in the integrity of the management of public resources.

鈥淭he authorities are required to set the highest standards of transparency, accountability and probity in the management of these resources and the programmes that they oversee.鈥�

鈥淲e would be grateful if the requested information is provided to us within 7 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter.

鈥淚f we have not heard from you by then, the Registered Trustees of SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions under the Freedom of Information Act to compel you to comply with our request.鈥�

鈥淧ublishing the details of projects on which the N800 billion recovered loot has been spent and a comprehensive list of names of people from whom they have been recovered, as well as investigating allegations of payment of billions of naira into individual accounts, and the projects for which the payments were made, would also serve the best interests of the general public.鈥�