The Nigeria Police Force has invited social media activist Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, to provide evidence backing his allegation that some police officers at checkpoints collude with kidnappers and bandits.

The Force, in a statement on Thursday by the Force Public Relations Officer, Ani Iniedu, said it had taken note of comments made by Otse at the recent Nigerian Bar Association’s conference in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

VeryDarkMan had alleged that police officers manning checkpoints along major highways identify wealthy travellers and relay information about their identities and movements to kidnappers, thereby facilitating their abduction for ransom.

Reacting, the police described the allegation as serious, unsubstantiated and unfairly damaging to the institution.

The statement said, “The Nigeria Police Force firmly rejects these allegations as unsubstantiated and unfairly damaging to an institution entrusted with the protection of millions of Nigerians. Allegations of this gravity demand a corresponding standard of evidence, and that standard has not yet been met.

“Accordingly, the Nigeria Police Force hereby invites Mr Martins Vincent Otse to produce, without delay, the evidence upon which he based these serious allegations, including any evidence that police personnel at checkpoints identify wealthy individuals and subsequently transmit information about them to kidnappers for the purpose of facilitating their abduction.”

The Force said any evidence presented by the activist would be treated with urgency and thoroughly investigated.

It urged members of the public with credible evidence of police misconduct to approach the appropriate authorities rather than relying solely on public allegations.

The police maintained that officers deployed to checkpoints nationwide were assigned to prevent crime, detect criminal activities and protect citizens, rather than facilitate kidnapping.

According to the statement, police personnel routinely confront criminal elements, and have suffered attacks and casualties in the course of their duties.

The police said, “Indeed, these same police officers routinely confront the very criminal elements alleged to be receiving such information. Police personnel have been ambushed, attacked and killed, while police stations, formations and operational assets have equally been targeted by terrorists, kidnappers and other violent criminals.”

The Force also said that where individual officers were found to have compromised their duties, they would face internal disciplinary measures and prosecution in accordance with the law.

It, however, cautioned against blanket accusations that could demoralise its personnel and undermine public trust in the institution.

“The sacrifices of our personnel and the integrity of the institution will not be casually diminished by unverified allegations. Anyone with credible evidence of misconduct should bring it forward through the appropriate channels for investigation in accordance with the law.

“The Force calls on members of the public to exercise responsibility in making and sharing allegations concerning national security institutions and to distinguish between legitimate criticism, which strengthens accountability, and unsubstantiated claims, which can endanger public trust and national security, ” the police said.

Source: punchng.com

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has offered whistleblowers up to five per cent of recovered assets for actionable information leading to the recovery of funds and properties allegedly stashed abroad by corrupt Nigerians.

Olukoyede urged individuals with credible information on the location of Nigerian assets suspected to be proceeds of corruption anywhere in the world to approach the commission, promising financial incentives upon successful recovery.

In a statement on Wednesday, EFFC spokesman Dele Oyewale said the commission’s chairman, Ola Olukoyede, disclosed this while delivering a lecture at the 43rd International Symposium on Economic Crime in Cambridge, United Kingdom.

“I welcome all of you to the world of whistleblowing. If any one of you is privy to where Nigerian assets are stolen or taken to anywhere in the world, we have an incentive for you; between 2.5 per cent and 5 per cent, it’s going to go back to you upon recovery.

“That is an incentive we have put in place to encourage people to come forward to give information about stolen assets,” he was quoted as saying.

The EFCC chairman said the reward could turn credible whistleblowers into millionaires, depending on the value of assets recovered from the information supplied.

“You never know if you give any information here, some of you may leave this place, multi-millionaire in your lifetime,” Olukoyede said, drawing applause from participants.

He said the initiative was aimed at strengthening the commission’s access to credible intelligence in tracing assets moved out of Nigeria through illicit means.

Olukoyede disclosed that the EFCC had recovered and secured the forfeiture of cash and assets worth more than $500m for the Federal Government within the first three years of his administration.

“Within three years of my assumption of office, we’ve been able to forfeit both cash and assets worth over half a billion dollars to the government,” he said.

He attributed the recoveries to the resourcefulness and professionalism of EFCC investigators, a vibrant judiciary and access to credible intelligence.

The anti-graft agency chairman also highlighted Nigeria’s non-conviction-based asset forfeiture framework, which he said enabled the commission to pursue suspected proceeds of crime without necessarily waiting for a criminal conviction.

According to him, the framework is similar to approaches used in countries, including Australia and Canada.

“We have something similar to what is obtainable in Australia and Canada that empowers us to apply the forfeiture to proceeds of what is suspected to be proceeds of crime,” he said.

Olukoyede said the mechanism had enabled the government to secure the forfeiture of assets including an aircraft, a university, estates and houses suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of crime.

He cited the recovery of 752 housing units linked to former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, as well as an ongoing investigation involving former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN).

He said the investigation into Malami’s assets led to the forfeiture of 48 properties out of 57 properties allegedly traced to him.

“Sometimes last year, I opened investigations upon reasonable suspicion of criminal abuse of office by the immediate past Attorney-General of Nigeria.

“We discovered that within eight years of his being in office, we were able to trace about 57 such properties to him. We’ve been able to forfeit about 48,” he said.

The 43rd International Symposium on Economic Crime, which is being held in Cambridge, brings together anti-corruption experts and practitioners from different parts of the world.

Olukoyede’s presentation was delivered on the third day of the week-long symposium.

Source: punchng.com

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The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Brig Gen Buba Marwa (retd.), has said arrests alone cannot defeat drug trafficking without a corresponding effort to seize and recover the proceeds of crime.

Marwa stated this on Tuesday while delivering a presentation titled, “Criminal Property and the Criminal Process: How Can We Make It More Effective?” at the ongoing 43rd Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime, organised by the Centre for Geopolitics, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.

This was contained in a statement by the spokesman of the agency, Femi Babafemi.

Speaking before an international gathering of judges, law enforcement chiefs, financial intelligence experts and academics, the NDLEA chairman said the success of the criminal justice system should not be measured solely by the number of convictions secured.

He said the process should also be assessed by its ability to make crime unprofitable.

According to him, “A trafficker who loses his liberty but retains his fortune has not truly been defeated. His wealth can finance another operation, support his associates and sustain the criminal enterprise.”

Marwa said the ultimate objective should be to deny criminals the proceeds of their crimes promptly and lawfully while preserving the value of seized assets.

He likened arresting a trafficker without dismantling his financial empire to “pruning a weed at the stem while leaving its roots undisturbed,” warning that illicit wealth could resurface under different names, front companies or jurisdictions.

The NDLEA boss outlined six strategies adopted by the agency to strengthen asset recovery, anchored on the NDLEA Act 2004, the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act 2022 and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022.

He cited the forfeiture of the Hook Hotel, a property linked to a fugitive drug suspect, as an example of the agency’s use of non-conviction-based forfeiture.

According to him, the property was sold for $4.2m, with the proceeds paid into the Federal Government’s forfeited assets account domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Marwa said the development demonstrated that fleeing the country could not enable a fugitive to retain the benefits of alleged criminal activities.

He also disclosed that NDLEA investigators and prosecutors were now working together from the commencement of cases, a development he said had shortened the period between arrest and the securing of restraint orders.

The NDLEA chairman said the agency froze bank accounts containing more than $7m in the previous month and secured interim forfeiture orders covering multibillion-naira assets, including filling stations, multi-storey buildings and exotic vehicles allegedly linked to a fugitive methamphetamine syndicate.

On the case involving Nigerian businessman Amadi Simon, whom the agency described as a suspected drug baron, Marwa said three hotels linked to the suspect were placed under professional asset managers instead of being shut down.

He said the measure was aimed at preserving the value of the hotels as going concerns pending the outcome of the trial.

Marwa further highlighted the use of provisions relating to unexplained wealth and living beyond legitimate means as investigative triggers, as well as the interlocutory sale of perishable and depreciating assets to prevent their values from declining before final judgment.

He said the measures had been incorporated into Nigeria’s National Drug Control Master Plan 2026–2030, making financial disruption of drug trafficking organisations a sustained national priority.

The NDLEA chairman identified speed, preservation of value and institutionalisation as three principles guiding the agency’s asset recovery efforts.

He, however, acknowledged challenges, including delays in mutual legal assistance, limited forensic accounting capacity and the need to balance the rights of accused persons with the responsibility of the state to preserve assets pending trial.

Marwa called for faster international cooperation and stronger cross-border recognition of non-conviction-based forfeiture orders.

He reaffirmed the agency’s readiness to strengthen partnerships with foreign jurisdictions and institutions in efforts to dismantle the financial structures supporting drug trafficking.