The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has called for the enactment of a law targeting unexplained wealth to effectively curb the criminal activities of treasury looters in Nigeria.
This request was made during a two-day International Law Conference titled “Unexplained Wealth in the Global South: Examining the Asset Recovery and Return Trajectory,” organized by Christopher University in Mowe, Ogun State.
In a statement conveyed by EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale, Olukoyede emphasized the urgent need for legislative measures to address the issue of unexplained wealth, citing successful implementations of Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs) in various countries worldwide. Notably, nations such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Mauritius, Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Trinidad and Tobago have already adopted UWOs since its introduction in 2018.
The EFCC chairman highlighted that the agency currently relies on the provisions of Section 7 of its Establishment Act to combat this menace.
He stressed that the matter of unexplained wealth transcends local boundaries, requiring jurisdictional legislations worldwide to effectively tackle the challenges associated with money laundering practices and illicit funds.
“The issue of unexplained wealth is not a local issue. There are jurisdictional legislations across the world to tackle it.
“Till date, countries of the world are faced with criminalities emanating from money laundering practices and illicit funds.
“This circumstance led to the promulgation of Unexplained Wealth Orders, UWOs that came into force in 2018.
“Several countries, such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Mauritius and African countries like Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Tobago in the Caribbean have come up with UWO.
“Nigeria is yet to come up with a national legislation on it,” he said.