Nigeria’s House panel summons five agencies over recovered assets
The Navy, police, customs, immigration service and petroleum regulator have been called before a parliamentary panel on 2 November as it examines how seized and recovered assets are recorded and managed.
Nigeria’s House of Representatives Sub-Committee on Public Assets has summoned five government agencies to appear on 2 November as it audits how seized, forfeited and recovered assets are recorded and managed. The summons puts the agencies’ custody and accounting procedures before a parliamentary panel seeking a verifiable account of assets held by public institutions.
The agencies are the Nigerian Navy, Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service and Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority. Committee chairman Ibe Okwara Osonwa announced the summons at the panel’s inaugural meeting on 28 October, The Sun reported.
What the five agencies must explain
The agencies are expected to describe their roles in seizing and recovering assets, who holds and manages the property, and the procedures used to document and account for it, according to Premium Times. The inquiry covers assets seized or forfeited through law enforcement and other statutory processes, as well as recovered property controlled by government institutions.
Osonwa said the panel had been mandated to establish an accurate, verifiable record of assets held, controlled or managed by relevant institutions. The audit is intended to establish their status, clarify custody and management, and examine how they are eventually disposed of or put to public use, Premium Times reported.
Why the panel is auditing recovered assets
Osonwa said questions about transparency, coordination between agencies and the integrity of asset recovery procedures had persisted across administrations. He argued that the handling of recovered property affected public trust and institutional credibility. Those were the chairman’s stated concerns as he set out the inquiry; the panel has yet to report audit findings.
A proposed unified digital registry is one measure Osonwa identified, according to Premium Times. He said centralising records could improve information sharing between agencies and address inconsistencies and duplication in asset records. The Sun reported that he also raised the possibility of recommending reforms to asset management systems, including measures to close what he described as longstanding loopholes.
The next scheduled step is the agencies’ 2 November appearance. Their accounts would give the panel information about each institution’s procedures as it works toward an inventory and assesses the handling and eventual use of recovered assets.
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Sources and context
- Reps summon Navy, Police, Customs, others over recovered assetsPremium Times Nigeria
- Reps panel summons Navy, Police, others over recovered assetsThe Sun Nigeria
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.