Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Magu on Thursday, met with the officials of the National Crime Agency, NCA, United Kingdom to discuss the Commission’s effort in the recovery of all ill-gotten assets domiciled in foreign jurisdiction by Nigerian’s Politically Exposed Persons, PEPs.
A statement by the EFCC’s acting Head, Media & Publicity, Tony Orilade, said Mr Magu also presented the Commission’s position on ways to fast-track the extradition of all PEPs who have found safe heavens in foreign jurisdiction.
DAILY NIGERIAN reports that the NCA is a national law enforcement agency in the United Kingdom.
It was established in 2013 as a non-ministerial government department, replacing the Serious Organised Crime Agency, SOCA, and absorbing the formerly separate Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre as one of its commands.
The statement read: “The EFCC Chairman had explained why the anti-graft agency is bent on extraditing all PEPs.
“For instance, speaking on the former minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Deziani Alison-Madueke, whose process of extradition from the United Kingdom has commenced, Magu explained that “having waited for three years, the Nigerian government believes that it is time to initiate the extradition process”.
“Outside Diezani, there are several other PEPs who have fled into exile since 2015 when the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari came on board in May 2015.”
The statement recalled that in 2017, a Federal High Court in Lagos ordered the final forfeiture of N7.6 billion alleged loot recovered by the Commission from the Diezani. The order of final forfeiture to the federal government was granted by Justice Abdulazeez Anka.