EFCC Lobbies for Percentage of Recovered Loots

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
has urged a review of Nigerian laws to enable anti-
graft agencies in the country retain a percentage of
the loot recovered to fund their operations.
Mr Ibrahim Magu, acting chairman of EFCC, said the
review will be in line with international best practices.
“In some jurisdictions like the UK, proceeds of crime
are further used to strengthen the agency,” Magu said.
He made the request at the national anti-corruption
conference organised by the Presidential Advisory
Committee against Corruption (PACAC) and the
National Assembly in Abuja.
“In EFCC, we have been struggling for years to build
our headquarters and when I think of the billions of
naira we recover, I can see what would have happened
if we are allowed to apply a percentage of this
recovery into our operations.”
The EFCC boss also advocated the amendment of the
country’s anti-graft laws to place the burden of proof
on the accused in corruption cases.
“One the issues that concerns us in the EFCC is that of
non-conviction based recovery.
“It is of great concern to us that the burden is on us to
prove in court that this is a proceed of crime.
“But in other climes the accused has to prove that the
property he has, actually represents the fruit of his
labour. “There is the need for the Act to make a
provision for an application of the proceeds of crime
into recapitalising the anti graft agencies.”