FG to release names of suspected looters intermittently

The Federal Government on Wednesday said it would make public the list of suspected treasury looters intermittently after it has fulfilled judicial principles.
A Federal High Court in Lagos on the same day gave a ruling compelling the Federal Government to “immediately release to Nigerians information about the names of high-ranking public officials from whom public funds were recovered and the circumstances under which funds were recovered, as well as the exact amount of funds recovered from each public official.”
The judgment was delivered by Justice Hadiza Rabiu Shagari following a Freedom of Information suit number: FHC/CS/964/2016 brought by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).
In reaction to the judgment, the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, who spoke to journalists after the post weekly Federal Executive Council meeting briefing, stated that the government was aware of its responsibility as far disclosures are concerned but had to follow due process. He said the government would, however, make the disclosures intermittently based on the background of the cases.
I want to place to on record that we have in place the freedom of information act and the government is fully aware of its responsibility arising from that legislation.
“The issue that is fundamentally worthy of consideration is the fact that the government will definitely be alive to its responsibility as far as those disclosures are concerned. You have to take into consideration that there are a lot of factors that are to be considered as far as making those disclosures are concerned.
“So, the government will at the appropriate time make necessary disclosures perhaps intermittently against the background of the prevailing conditions relating to the tendency of certain suits and associated things,” he said.
The Attorney General noted that some matters that are sub-judiced pending in court, “there are matters of reconciliation, compilations and associated things. On need and compliance basis the Federal Government have been making public necessary statement and then courts in their own rights in the course of adjudication of cases keep making judgments and statements as relates to the parties as it relates to the judgment that has been handed down.”
In the light of this, Malami said the disclosure will definitely be made “but then it is contingent on the consummation of associated considerations as it relates to subjudiced principles, as it relates to concluding of reconciliations and confirmation of figures”.
It can be recalled that the Ministry of Information last year published details of the recoveries, which showed that the federal government had successfully retrieved total cash amount of N78,325,354,631.82, $185,119,584.61, £3,508,355.46 and €11, 250 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. The ministry also announced that 239 non-cash recoveries were made during the one-year period. The non-cash recoveries are – farmlands, plots of land, uncompleted buildings, completed buildings, vehicles and maritime vessels.

 

Elizabeth Archibong