By Despite the economic crunch being faced by the Federal Government of Nigeria that has made it resort to borrowing from multilateral agencies and China to pay salaries and execute capital projects, properties worth trillions are rotting away under the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Police Force, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency and others.
Amongst some of the assets confiscated from politically exposed persons, civil servants and other individuals by different government agencies are 90 sea vessels, scores of fuel-laden tankers, trucks, exotic cars, residential and commercial buildings, machinery, phones, laptops, jewellery, furniture, equipment and other items, which have been left at the mercy of the elements.
Other recovered items from former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, who was minister under former President Goodluck Jonathan, are 125 pieces of wedding gowns, 13 pieces of small gowns, 41 pieces of waist trainers, 73 pieces of hard flowers, 11 pieces of suit, 11 pieces of invisible bra, 73 pieces of veils, 30 pieces of braziers, two pieces of standing fans, 17 pieces of magic skits, six packets of blankets, one table blanket and 64 pairs of shoes.
Assets confiscated from her are located in highbrow Banana Island Foreshore Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos, and include 18 flats and six penthouses at Building 3, Block B, Bella Vista, Plot 1, Zone N, Federal Government Layout.
According to a report made by Punch Newspaper x-raying the Report of the Presidential Committee on Audit of Recovered Assets titled, ‘Final Report of the Presidential Investigation Committee on the EFCC Federal Government Recovered Assets and Finances from May 2015 to May 2020’, it stated that the former acting Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, could not give a proper account of 332 out of the 836 recovered properties in March 2018.
The panel alleged that recovered properties were taken over by some top EFCC officials or sold to Magu’s friends and cronies at giveaway prices.
It also disclosed that the retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police was unable to account for the interest generated from the N550bn cash recovered from 2015 to 2020.
The report stated, “A disturbing example is the two vessels that allegedly sank at the NNS Beecroft Naval Base, Lagos, and the NNS Pathfinder Naval Base in Port Harcourt without trace under the watch of the acting chairman of the EFCC.
“The vessels named MT GOOD SUCCESS, MV PSV DERBY and MV THAMES were allowed to sink in spite of several warnings from the Navy on the need to evacuate the petroleum products in the vessels.”
