20 Jul Transparency International: Nigeria must strengthen anti-corruption bodies

Global anti-corruption body Transparency International is participating in a workshop to follow up on the Nigerian government’s commitments made at the Anti-Corruption Summit in London on fighting corruption in the country.

The Nigerian government must commit to a “serious crackdown on corruption, as well as transparency when it comes to how recovered stolen assets will be used,” Chantal Uwimana, regional director for Africa at Transparency International, said in a statement. “Words are not enough.”

According to the Nigerian government, more than US$10 billion in looted cash and assets have been recovered. “We need to know who stole the money and when they will be brought to justice,” Uwimana said. “There should be no impunity for the corrupt.”

In London, Nigeria committed to the transparency and accountable management of stolen assets and greater cooperation to uncover and stop international enablers of corruption in the global financial system.

“We want to see progress on this in Nigeria and with the law enforcement authorities in other countries,” Uwimana added. “This is not a problem specific to Nigeria; the global financial system has to tackle this by holding the enablers of corruption—the lawyers, bankers, accountants, for example—to account.”

At London’s Anti-Corruption Summit, Nigeria also committed to signing on to the Open Government Partnership as a means of increasing openness, transparency and accountability in government and Transparency International has called on the Nigerian government to follow through with this commitment without delay.

credit: complianceweek.com