The Federal Government has successfully recovered $763.7 million and £6.4 million in stolen assets between 2017 and 2024, according to Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN).
Speaking at the opening of the Asset Recovery Summit in Abuja on Tuesday, themed ‘Synergizing towards effective asset recovery and management,’ Fagbemi disclosed that $102.88 million and £2,062,000 were recovered in 2024 alone. These include $52.88 million from Galactica Assets, $50 million from Glencore fines, and £2,062,000 linked to the Useni/Miner case.
The minister highlighted Nigeria’s international collaborations, stating: “The ministry had been working with its counterparts and international partners such as the US, UK, Bailiwick of Jersey, Ireland and Switzerland to facilitate the execution of various agreements and the recoveries.”
Fagbemi detailed how the recovered funds were utilized: “From 2017 to 2024, USD 659,900,000 and GBP 6,472,610 of recovered funds were invested in conditional cash transfer and to partly fund critical infrastructure development under the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund Projects (PIDF) namely – the Lagos Ibadan Expressway (LIE), 2nd Niger Bridge (2NB), and Abuja-Kano Road (AKR).”
Transparency mechanisms were emphasized, with Fagbemi noting: “The conditional cash transfer project was monitored by a coalition of CSOs led by ANEEJ… The CSO that monitored the utilisation of the recovered assets on the PIDF projects was CLEEN Foundation.” Both organizations publish regular reports on their respective websites.
Supporting the transparency drive, Solicitor-General of the Federation Beatrice Jedy-Agba advocated for “empowerment of civil society organisations, journalists, and citizen-led initiatives to actively participate in tracking hidden wealth.”
Mrs. Juliet Ibekaku-Nwagwu of the African Centre for Governance, Asset Recovery and Sustainable Development commended Nigeria’s leadership in asset recovery, noting the country’s role in “championing the United Nations resolutions on asset recovery and return.” The summit continues to explore strategies for more effective management of recovered assets.
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