Headline

FG Reveals How Nigeria Recovered Loot From UK, Switzerland, US

Published

4 years ago

November 16, 2021

The Federal Government has given an insight into how preventive measures adopted to check corruption and manage recovered stolen assets had brought about the repatriation of some stolen funds stashed away overseas.

Such funds included the $322.515 million in Switzerland, $311.7 million in the United States, €5.4 million Euros in Northern Ireland, €4,214,017.66 in the United Kingdom and another $200 million.

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, according to a statement issued on Tuesday by his Special Assistant (Media and Public Relations), Dr. Umar Gwandu, stated these during the 2021 annual public lecture in New York organised by the Centre for Media and Peace Initiative, New York, United States of America, Monday.

According to him, being an Africa Union Champion in the fight against corruption, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has endeavoured under his regime to fight corruption in all its ramifications through legislative framework.

He said that outstanding successes recorded by the regime in international asset recovery could be a template for other African countries in the fight against graft.

Malami said, “Various steps have been taken in terms of legislative frameworks, establishment of institutions and policy measures targeted at combatting corruption, regional cooperation and ensuring good governance for the benefit of citizens.

“In 2017, the signing of a trilateral agreement with Switzerland and the World Bank enabled the recovery of $322.515 million.

“In 2020, a total sum of $311.7 million was returned to Nigeria after signing another trilateral agreement with the U.S.A and Bailiwick of Jersey.

“Also in the year 2020, 5.4 million Euros was recovered in March emanating 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 $200 million are being anticipated subject to the settlement of litigation of which the Ministry of Justice is attending to presently.”

Malami said the present regime was able to achieve the successes due to political will, funding, legislation, institutional support, and Executive Orders by President Buhari.

“The Buhari’s approach to fight against corruption has been one of three cardinal pillars of our campaign promises, the others are economic and security development”, the minister said.

He stressed that Nigeria had taken anti-corruption measures in tackling cybercrime, money laundering, oil bunkering and false assets declaration among others.

The AGF said that the Federal Government had developed the National Anti-Corruption Strategy and guidelines for smooth implementation of the strategy which has five pillars of prevention of corruption, public engagement, ethical re-orientation, enforcement and sanction, and recovery and management of proceeds of crime.

“I am pleased to inform this gathering that the Federal Government of Nigeria has recovered funds from corporate bodies and individuals through the combined efforts of the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice and our law enforcement agencies through local and international collaboration with international community and adoption of strategies put in place”, he said.

The minister said that former state governors, senators and ministers including some members of the ruling All Progressives Congress were not spared in the fight against corruption.

“Currently, high profile personalities including judicial officers and former governors indicted for corruption have been or are being prosecuted. We have some former top government officials convicted and serving various jailterms for corruption-related crimes while in office”, he said.

While arguing that the stance of Nigeria in the anti-corruption struggle has been adjudged to be recording tremendous success, Malami said that the position was upheld by credible International organisations including the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crimes.

The minister said the consequential effects of the approach of the Buhari regime in the fight against corruption was reflective in the UNODC 2019 corruption survey report titled: “Corruption in Nigeria: Patterns and trends.”

He said the report alluded to a decrease in bribery which was the bedrock of corruption and also established Nigeria’s leadership in the fight against corruption.

The statement also quoted the 2019 UNODC report that “the efforts made to prevent and counter corruption in its various manifestations have earned Mr. President the role of the African Union’s anti-corruption champion. This survey is yet another example of Nigeria’s leadership in the fight against corruption and is testimony to the seriousness of purpose of the government’s anti-corruption agenda.”

Malami therefore called on Africans in both public and private sectors to aspire from the inspiration and understand that integrity pays above acquiring illegal monies from corrupt practices.

“I hereby reiterate Nigeria’s call for a strong institutionalised body that could join forces together with African countries to fight corruption. Collaboration in support for institutions, development of international and regional strategies and guidelines will go a long way in addressing the menace of corruption”, he said.

(PUNCH)

Headline

Syrian Ex-leader Assad Faces War Crime Charges For Killing Journalists

Published

18 minutes ago

September 2, 2025

Editor

French judicial authorities have issued arrest warrants for ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and six other top former officials over the bombardment of a rebel-held city in 2012 that killed two journalists, lawyers said Tuesday.

Marie Colvin, 56, an American working for The Sunday Times of Britain, and French photographer Remi Ochlik, 28, were killed on February 22, 2012, by the explosion in the eastern city of Homs, which is being investigated by the French judiciary as a potential crime against humanity as well as a war crime.

British photographer Paul Conroy, French reporter Edith Bouvier, and Syrian translator Wael Omar were wounded in the attack on the informal press centre where they had been working.

Assad escaped with his family to Russia after being ousted by Islamist rebels at the end of 2024, although his precise whereabouts have not been confirmed.

Other than Assad, the warrants notably target his brother Maher al-Assad, who was the de facto head of the 4th Syrian armoured division at the time, intelligence chief Ali Mamlouk, and then-army chief of staff Ali Ayoub.

“The issuing of the seven arrest warrants is a decisive step that paves the way for a trial in France for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Bashar al-Assad’s regime,” said Clemence Bectarte, lawyer for the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and Ochlik’s parents.

The FIDH said the journalists had clandestinely entered the besieged city to “document the crimes committed by Bashar al-Assad’s regime” and were victims of a “targeted bombing”.

“The investigation clearly established that the attack on the informal press centre was part of the Syrian regime’s explicit intention to target foreign journalists to limit media coverage of its crimes and force them to leave the city and the country,” said Mazen Darwish, lawyer and director of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM).

Colvin was known for her fearless reporting and signature black eye patch, which she wore after losing sight in one eye in an explosion during Sri Lanka’s civil war. Her career was celebrated in a Golden Globe-nominated film, “A Private War”.

AFP

Headline

Ghana’s President Sacks Chief Justice Over Corruption Allegations

Published

22 hours ago

September 1, 2025

Editor

President John Dramani Mahama has dismissed the Chief Justice of Ghana following the outcome of a high-level investigation into allegations of falsifying judicial records and misusing public funds.

A five-member commission, chaired by a Supreme Court judge and set up by Mahama, concluded that the allegations against the country’s top judicial officer were substantiated and recommended her removal.

“After considering the petition and the evidence, the Committee found that the grounds of stated misbehaviour under Article 146(1) had been established and recommended her removal from office,” said the spokesperson to the President, Felix Ofosu, in a statement on Monday.

“President John Dramani Mahama has accordingly removed the Chief Justice from office with immediate effect.”

The dismissal marks the first time a sitting Chief Justice in Ghana has been investigated and dismissed from office.

While Mahama, who took office in January, has repeatedly pledged to intensify the fight against corruption, it remains unclear whether the embattled Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkonoo, will face criminal prosecution.

Headline

Danish Court Sentences Ex-minister To Prison For Child Abuse Material

Published

23 hours ago

September 1, 2025

Editor

A former Danish government minister was jailed for four months on Monday for possession of thousands of images of child sexual abuse.

Henrik Sass Larsen, once a senior Social Democrat who served as industry minister, admitted to having more than 6,000 photographs and 2,000 videos on his computer depicting sexual abuse of children.

He had denied the charges, saying he had the material because he was trying to find out who had abused him as a child.

Prosecutor Maria Cingari said she was “satisfied” with the verdict but added that it was sad that someone “who managed to make the most out of their life despite a bad start finds himself in such a situation.”

“You should never be in possession of child pornography, no matter the reason,” Cingari added.

During his trial, the 59-year-old told the court he had received a link in 2018 to a 50-year-old video showing him being sexually abused when he was three years old.

He testified that he received another video clip in 2020, in which a three-year-old girl was raped in his presence when he was around the same age.

The two videos disappeared after he viewed them, he said.

He told the court he regretted not having contacted the police when he received the videos.

Sass Larsen was also accused of being in possession of a child sex doll, but the court did not find him guilty on that charge.

His lawyer, Berit Ernst, told reporters that “we’ll see if it is a definitive end or if we will appeal.”

The scandal came to light last March and led to his expulsion from the Social Democratic Party.

At the time, Social Democratic Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen expressed her shock over the case.

AFP