The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has hailed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for the recovery of an expansive estate in the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja) from a corrupt top former brass of the government.
Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie, on Monday, gave a ruling on the final forfeiture of the estate in Abuja measuring 150,500 square meters and containing 753 units of duplexes and other apartments.
The estate, which rests on Plot 109 Cadastral Zone C09, Lokogoma District, Abuja, was allegedly built by a top government functionary with the proceeds from his various corrupt and unlawful activities while in office.
NANS, in a statement on Tuesday signed by the Clerk of the Senate, NANS headquarters, Abdul-Yekinn Odunayo, in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, described the single largest asset recovery by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as a “huge achievement.”
Odunayo, in the statement, lauded the anti-graft agency for working assiduously to secure the forfeiture of the property illegally acquired through the court of law, urging it not to relent in its fight against perpetrators of economic and financial crimes irrespective of their social and political status.
He particularly commended the EFCC’s Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, for his resilience and courage in tackling corruption in both government and private establishments.
The Senate clerk, however, urged the anti-graft agency to go after more government officials who engage in unlawful practices to amass wealth and property.
“We are proud of these achievements and urge you to continue in this internal sanitation to weed out suspected corrupt officials and economic crime collaborators.
“Beam your searchlight on different government ministries, parastatals, and agencies of the government; many of such sprawling estates in different parts of Abuja are said to be owned by top government officials,” the statement read.
Odunayo maintained that Nigeria will be a better place if the agency continues in this manner, adding that the asset tracing and recovery policy must be extended to the state level.
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