REMARKS BY THE HONOURABLE ATTORNEY-GENERAL OF THE FEDERATION AND MINISTER OF JUSTICE, ABUBAKAR MALAMI, SAN ON THE SIGNING OF THE TRIPARTITE ASSET SHARING AGREEMENT AMONGST NIGERIA,ISLAND OF JERSEY AND UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AT THE NIGERIA–UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BI-NATIONAL COMMISSION SCHEDULED FROM 3RD–4 TH FEBRUARY,2020 AT WASHINGTON DC,USA
1.It is my pleasure to be here on this auspicious occasion of the signing of the Tripartite Asset Sharing Agreement amongst the Governments of Nigeria, Island of Jersey and United States of America.
2.Let me thank the United States of America for hosting us. Also, my special thanks to the Technical Expert Teams from the three countries for their dedication and effort in ensuring the Agreement is finalized for signing today.
3.I am glad that the negotiation for asset return that the Governments of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, United States of America and the Bailiwick of Jersey that commenced in 2018 has culminated into an Agreement embedded in international law and cooperation measures that sets out the procedures for the repatriation, transfer, disposition and management of the assets.
4.The Tripartite Agreement to be signed today,3rd February,2020 represents a major watershed in International Asset Recovery and Repatriation as it seeks to provide benefit to the victims of corruption.
5.As you are aware,the government of Nigeria has committed that the assets will support and assist in expediting the construction of the three major infrastructure projects across Nigeria– namely Lagos– Ibadan expressway, Abuja– Kano express way and the second Niger bridge. These projects currently being executed under the supervision of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA)as a public private partnership(PPP)will boost economic growth and help alleviate poverty by connecting people and supply chains from the East to the West and to the Northern part of Nigeria, a vast area covering several kilometers with approximately forty million of the country’s population set to benefit from the road infrastructures.
6.The projects will be independently audited,and the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in consultation with the other Parties will establish a Monitoring Team to oversee the implementation of the projects and to report regularly on progress. The Parties will also engage Civil Society Organizations, who have expertise in substantial infrastructure projects, civil engineering, anti corruption compliance, anti-human trafficking compliance, and procurement to provide additional monitoring and oversight.
7. Iam of the view that today, we have achieved a major victory, for Nigeria and other African countries as the Agreement recognizes that crime does not pay and that it is important for the international community to seek for ways to support sustainable development through the recovery and repatriation of stolen assets.
8.Without the commitment of the three parties to the Agreement (Nigeria, Jersey and the United States) and that of the legal experts and Attorneys representing Nigeria, it would have been impossible to achieve the success recorded today .I am grateful to them and to our partners, the Attorney General’s office in the Bailiwick of Jersey and the United States Department of Justice.
9.Let me reiterate that our goal is to continue to seek for greater cooperation and mutual respect and understanding amongst countries in the implementation of expeditious cooperation measures already set out in the United Nations Convention Against Corruption and in the implementation of the GFAR principles.
10 .I call on civil society organizations and the Nigerian public to be involved in the monitoring of the implementation of the key infrastructure projects that will greatly enhance road transportation in Nigeria.
11.Under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, the Federal Government of Nigeria has established a strong commitment to transparency and accountability through diligent implementation of projects agreed upon with Switzerland and the World Bank with particular reference to the disbursement of the three hundred and twenty two million US Dollars ($322million) repatriated from Switzerland in 2018 under a World Bank monitored social investment program targeted at poor households.
12.On behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I wish to assure the international community that the Government of Nigeria is committed to the diligent implementation of the terms in the Agreement and to ensure that the
Repatriated funds are utilized for the stated purposes.
Thank you for your participation.
ABUBAKARMALAMI,SAN Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Nigeria 3rdFebruary,2020