FG moves to name looters

President Muhammadu Buhari has directed all relevant agencies to compile documents on names of all looters and make the list public.

The directive is in compliance with an earlier ruling of a Federal High Court in Lagos, which ordered the federal government to release names of high-ranking public officials from whom public funds were recovered.

The suit was initiated by SERAP, based on government’s disclosure in 2016, of funds recovered from some high-ranking public officials and private individuals.

Government ddid not appeal the ruling. On July 5, 2017, Justice Hadiza Shagari made the order following a Freedom of Information (FOI) suit by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP). Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abukabar Shehu Malami (SAN) disclosed this at a meeting with a SERAP delegation, in his office, in Abuja, yesterday. The AGF confirmed the meeting with SERAP and the president’s directive to Daily Sun, yesterday. However, he did not give a timeline for the publication but gave a condition: As as long as it does not amount to sub judice.

The court also ordered the federal government to detail the circumstances under which funds were recovered, as well as the exact amount of funds recovered from each public official. Last year, the Ministry of Information and Culture published details of the recoveries, which showed that N78,325,354,631.82, $ 185,119,584.61, £3,508,355.46 and €11, 250 were recovered between May 29, 2015 and May 25, 2016. Also released were recoveries under interim forfeiture, which were a combination of cash and assets, during the same period: N126,563,481,095.43, $9,090,243,920.15, £2,484,447.55 and €303,399.17. Anticipated repatriation from foreign countries totalled: $321,316,726.1, £6,900,000 and €11,826.11.