Lagos – TheCivil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and Transparency International Nigeria have hailed the United Kingdom’s recovery of $9.5 million in stolen Nigerian assets, describing it as a landmark demonstration of international cooperation against corruption.
CISLAC Executive Director, Auwal Rafsanjani, said the action aligns with Nigeria’s Proceeds of Crime Act (PoCA) 2022, which provides a framework for tracing, freezing, confiscating, and recovering illicit assets both locally and abroad.
He stressed that PoCA remains Nigeria’s principal instrument for ensuring that criminals do not profit from looted funds hidden overseas.
The organisations noted that the recovery underscores the importance of mutual legal assistance in deterring illicit financial flows. However, they raised concerns about transparency, warning that there is limited public information on how recovered assets are deployed.
Despite significant recoveries over the past decade, they said accountability in managing returned funds remains weak.
CISLAC and TI Nigeria urged the government to fully implement PoCA, honour commitments under the Global Forum on Asset Recovery, and allow independent oversight by the National Assembly to ensure assets are traced, tracked, and measured transparently.
Rafsanjani cautioned that accountability suffers when recovered funds are merged into general expenditure without clear reporting mechanisms.
He called for stronger enforcement, improved transparency, and institutional reforms to guarantee that recovered assets deliver tangible benefits to Nigerians.
