House of Representatives has ordered investigation into the handling of seized assets worth over N2 trillion by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ( EFCC) following a flood petitions received by its Committee on Crimes and Narcotic from the public.
The resolution followed the adoption of the prayers of a motion sponsored by Hon. Toby Okechukwu (PDP-Enugu) and 16 others. Reading his motion, Okechukwu noted that most of the operations of EFCC were not transparently done.
He said the situation whereby vehicles, houses or business concerns seized by EFCC were allowed to go to waste by the commission was unacceptable.
The lawmaker said the EFCC had seized over 200 mansions in the past through court orders but that these assets were not accounted for.
Okechukwu said the agency had seized assets from accused and convicted persons, including prominent Nigerians and corporate organisations through court orders in accordance with its powers, adding that the Assets Forfeiture Unit of the agency, which came into being in 2008, mandated the EFCC to ensure that all assets it confiscated for the Federal Government were identified and verifiable.
He said the forfeited assets estimated at over N2 trillion were made up of landed properties and business concerns, bank accounts, shares in blue chip companies, exotic vehicles, fuel stations, hotels, warehouses, shopping malls, schools, bakeries, housing estates and radio stations in and outside Nigeria.
The legislator also expressed worry that there were reports and complaints of vandalism, abandonment and wastage of some of these assets after they were seized by the EFCC.
He expressed concern over “the status of these properties and the lack of clarity on their use while litigation is on, coupled with the reported breach of the seal of EFCC and attempts at unlawful and forceful repossession by those whose properties had been confiscated.”
Okechukwu said he was challenged by “the reported rot and dilapidation of over 400 cars seized from former governors and prominent Nigerians which order was obtained from the court to enable professional managers use same to generate revenue for the Federal Government of Nigeria.”
He added that it was instructive to note that the commission ought to hire experts to run any seized company to avoid ruining the organisation and the jobs of workers.
The lawmaker said the situation was made worse by the fact that employees of the companies concerned were often thrown into the unemployment market.
Samson Osagie (Edo/ACN), minority whip of the House, Hon. while supporting the motion, noted that it was sad that instead of the country benefiting from seized property, the reverse was case.
Osagie said the fact that property seized by EFCC were allowed to rot and become worthless meant the country had nothing to benefit from the seizure.
He said: “The idea is for the nation to recoup what has been stolen but right now, because some of these properties are allowed to rot away, we do not make gains out of the seizure.”
Another member, Hon. Emeka Nwogbo (Anambra- APGA), advocated a change of strategy by the agency to enable people benefit from seizure of properties.