By Olusegun Olanrewaju
Following deliberations on the proposed “Crime Agency (POCA) and Forfeited Assets Management (Establishment) Bill 2021”, a resource centre, Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), has advised the law enforcement and anti-corruption agencies in the country to recruit more staff for operations.

Making its observations last week at the public hearing of the Senate joint session, HEDA called for the creation of a new agency to handle the task, contrary to government reports on reduction of agencies.

Noting a difference in framework, HEDA opined that the creation of a new agency is for Assets Management Skills.

It suggested the employment of new staff or seconding of some from the law enforcement and anti-corruption agencies, to deliver on existing mandates of relevant agencies to manage and dispose of forfeited assets.

HEDA also suggested the creation of a new agency with conflicting power of management, freezing, recovery, disposal, seizure, tracing and confiscation powers, similar to existing ACAs and LEAs inimical to collaboration and efficient management of proceeds of crimes.

Giving advice, the centre advised on the financial implications of mandate execution on nationwide and international assets.
The civil society organisation (CSO) maintained that it was potentially impracticable and impossible, considering the inability of the Ministry of Justice to currently fund recovery of assets, to employ the services of external lawyers, on a no-win, no-fee basis.

HEDA affirmed that the agency’s relevance in changing nature and scope of financial crimes and money laundering, would help it to meet the need to conduct its own investigations and prosecution of money laundering, terrorism financing, among other concerned matters.

In response to perishable forfeited assets nationwide, the group suggested that that could be difficult, cumbersome and expensive, with a centre-dependent bureaucracy.

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On proper handling of exhibits at interim forfeiture stage, as well as how it might disrupt the fight against graft, HEDA submitted that handling exhibits could jeopardise a successful prosecution, and that it would be very disruptive given the controversy surrounding the ongoing assets’ disposal by the Attorney-General’s office.

On who are the proponents and supporters, HEDA again said the Honourable Attorney of the Federation (HAGF), finding its compliance with the Orasanye report and government white paper on not creating new agencies, would make it contravene the whole ideas.

For accountability and governance mechanisms, it maintained that there should be a Central Database in HAG’s Office and Quarterly Report to NASS Public Accounts Committees.

On Accessibility to Forfeitures Records, the anti-corruption CSO suggested that records domiciled in the Courts/NJC and National Data Base, be made open for scrutiny.