The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, has requested that a law prohibiting unexplained wealth be enacted in order to curb the criminal actions of treasury looters in the country.
In a statement, EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale said Olukoyede made the call at a two-day International Law Conference organized by Christopher University in Mowe, Ogun State.
The theme of the conference is
“Unexplained Wealth in the Global South: Examining the Asset Recovery and Return Trajectory”.
According to the EFCC chairman, many countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Mauritius, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Trinidad and Tobago, had embraced the Unexplained Wealth Orders, UWOs, since its inception in 2018.
He noted that the anti-graft agency was still relying on the provisions of Section 7 of its Establishment Act to check the menace.
“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.