The Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) has revealed that between $88 and $94 billion is stolen from Nigeria and other African nations every year. The figures were disclosed during an asset recovery forum in Abuja, co-hosted with the Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity.
GIABA’s Director General, Edwin Harris, represented by Tim Melaye, cited a report by former South African President Thabo Mbeki under the UN Economic Commission for Africa, urging African governments to work together to trace and repatriate looted funds.
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Executive Secretary of the CFTPI, Dr Umar Yakubu, described asset recovery as essential to national development, noting that stolen funds could have been channelled into sectors such as education and healthcare.
Senior officials from ICPC, EFCC, and Transparency International echoed calls for stronger mechanisms and cross-border cooperation to improve asset tracing and management.
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