Nigeria’s stolen funds are not only found in Europe but all over the world. This was according to the Head of the EU Delegation to Nigeria, Mr Michel Arrion, who spoke at a press briefing on Wednesday in Abuja.
“Nigeria’s stolen funds are not only in Europe; they are everywhere. So we are happy to see that President Muhammadu Buhari went to UAE to discuss the repatriation of stolen wealth,” Arrion said.
“We welcome any form of cooperation in the judicial, the police cooperation that Nigeria wants to have with EU member-states,” he said.
The EU envoy while noting that all countries are fighting corruption said that what may be different is the level of commitment. However, he remarked that the level of corruption in the country had impacted negatively on the economy and infrastructure.
He also cautioned against executive interference with the judiciary in the fight against corruption. “There have been cases of abandoned corruption trials in the past, so there is nothing wrong with the executive making statement on expeditious trial of corruption cases. But prosecution must be within the ambit of the Rule of Law,” he said.
He said the EU is supporting Nigeria’s fight against corruption through a range of programmes aimed at strengthening the anti-corruption agencies and the criminal justice system.
Arrion explained that the EU is supporting the fight against corruption in Nigeria through a 35 million Euros project being implemented nationwide by the UN Office on Drug and Crime. He said the EU support to the Justice Sector Reform in Nigeria with the UNODC is currently being implemented in six focal states.
