62 houses belonging to a female public officer has been recovered by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission. This was revealed by ICPC Chairman Mr. Ekpo Nta. 

 

Nta revealed this while fielding questions from journalists in Akwa Ibom during the Anti-Corruption summit held in Uyo on Tuesday.

He further said that the matter is in the court and the property will be confiscated by the Federal Government after litigation.

 

He said, “How would the commission address unexplained wealth by public officers? The commission has a mandate to ask anybody to explain the source of his or her wealth. The commission has the power to issue an interim seizure order to any public officer to explain the source of their wealth.

 

“Through that order, the commission has seized 62 houses from one female officer, the matter is still in court and the property will be confiscated by the FG after litigation.”

 

Nta, who spoke on the theme, “Transparency and Accountability: A Panacea for Good Governance and Sustainable Development,” said the anti-corruption war had yielded good results in the country. He cautioned public office holders not to live above their incomes.

 

Nta said, “There are many facets of corruption in Nigeria. The commission will stop at nothing to bring anyone found to have contravened the anti-corruption crusade to book.”

 

According to Punch, Nta further revealed that the commission had retrieved 40 vehicles that were stolen by some retired directors of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and warned against trivialising the anti-graft war.

 

He also hinted that about that the commission is prosecuting over 400 corruption cases in different courts in the country, noting that those found guilty at the end of the trial would be made to face the full wrath of the law.

 

Nta explained that the ICPC had inaugurated anti-corruption clubs in orientation camps, noting that such measures had assisted the commission in detecting and arresting about 42 fake corps members at orientation camps recently.

 

Responding, the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, lamented that corruption had eaten deep into the fabrics of the Nigerian society. Emmanuel advised all and sundry to be in the vanguard of curbing the menace of corruption if the country must move forward.

 

“We must change our mindsets about the way we do things in the country,” Emmanuel said.

 

The governor frowned on what he described as illicit cash running into over $157bn leaving the shores of Nigeria through fraudulent practices. Emmanuel noted that corruption is one of the greatest problems facing the government in Nigeria. He called on all well meaning Nigerians to fight corruption.