Nigeria, represented by Ibrahim
Magu, the acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC) has been appointed to lead Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies in
Commonwealth Africa, comprising 19 countries.
The appointment was announced at
the 8th Regional Conference of the body which ended in Abuja on Friday. The
group said in a communique that the members resolved to deepen collaboration on
asset tracking and recovery. It expressed concern about the heavy losses that
Africa was suffering as a result of illegal transfers of proceeds of corruption
and crime. To effectively tackle the challenge, the body stressed the need for
synergy among member countries.
“African countries should
strengthen cooperation and partnership in the tracing, recovery and return of
assets in accordance with Article 54 of the United Nations Convention against
Corruption and Article 16 of the African Union Convention on Preventing and
Combating Corruption.’’ The group underscored the importance of whistleblowing
in the fight against corruption, asset recovery and return and urged African
countries to enact strong whistleblowing legislations and provide protection
for whistleblowers.
Nigeria introduced the
whistleblowing policy in December 2016 as part of efforts toward achieving the
goals of the fight against corruption. Anti-corruption agencies from member
countries, however, appealed to judicial and prosecuting authorities to support
and fast-track prosecution of corruption cases. “Anti-corruption agencies in
Africa should explore innovative ways of delivering public education, awareness
and sensitisation messages to the general public about tracing and recovering
of assets,’’ the group said.
It appreciated the invaluable
support and warm hospitality provided by the Federal Government, EFCC,
Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and the people
of Nigeria. Meanwhile, Uganda has been
nominated to host the 2019 conference in partnership with the Commonwealth
Secretariat, Wilson Uwujaren, the spokesperson for EFCC, announced in a
statement.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com