The Nigerian government claims the successes recorded by President Muhammadu Buhari in international asset recovery could be a template for other African countries in the fight against corruption.
Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami made the assertions in New York at the 2021 public lecture of the Centre for Media and Peace Initiative.
Malami said being an Africa Union (AU) Champion in the fight against corruption, Buhari has tackled graft in all areas.
The AGF said this is the result of the legislative framework, institutional infrastructure, adoption of effective preventive measures and management of recovered stolen assets.
Malami recalled that in 2017, a trilateral agreement with Switzerland and World Bank enabled the recovery of $322.5 million.
The minister said in 2020, $311.7 million was returned to Nigeria after signing another agreement with the US and Bailiwick of Jersey.
He further mentioned the €5.4 million recovered in March from an agreement signed with Northern Island.
“The Federal Government was able to recover from the UK the sum of €4,214,017.66 connected to the family of James Ibori.
“Additional recoveries to the tune of $200million are being anticipated subject to the settlement of litigations of which the Ministry of Justice is attending to presently.
“The Buhari’s approach to fighting against corruption has been one of three cardinal pillars of our campaign promises, the others are economic and security development”.
Malami reiterated Nigeria’s call for a strong institutionalized body that could join forces with other African countries to fight corruption.
He added that the joint support for institutions, development of international, regional strategies and guidelines will go a long way in battling the menace.
