NACIWA Re-elects Olukoyede President, Ratifies ECOWAS Guidelines on Borderless Investigation, Asset Management

The Network of Anti-Corruption Institutions in West Africa, NACIWA, on Wednesday, October 15, re-elected the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede as President and affirmed the adoption of guidelines on borderless investigations, asset tracing, recovery and management of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS.

In a Communique issued at the end of the Annual General Assembly, AGA, in Abuja on Wednesday and signed by all the ECOWAS member states present at the meeting, Olukoyede was widely commended for offering remarkable leadership and commitment to tackling trans-border economic and financial crimes in the sub-region.

The EFCC’s Chair and other Executive Committee members, who completed their first term at the end of the 7th Annual General Assembly of NACIWA in Abuja on Wednesday, were re-elected through “consensus renewal of their mandates” owing to their optimal and exemplary performance for another term of three years.

Also, all the member states “notes with satisfaction the adoption of the ECOWAS Guidelines on Borderless Investigations, Asset Tracing, Recovery, and Management, and calls on all Member States to integrate them into national frameworks to ensure harmonized implementation”

The AGA also reaffirms its commitment to the 2001 ECOWAS Protocol on the Fight against Corruption, the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), and the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (AUCPCC).

While reaffirming the importance of regional cooperation in asset recovery, mutual legal assistance, and information exchange, it urged Member Institutions to strengthen coordination with national financial intelligence units and law enforcement agencies.

It acknowledged that the 7th AGA coincides with the commemoration of 50 years of ECOWAS, symbolizing renewed regional unity and collaboration and called on Member Institutions to take necessary steps to domesticate and operationalize the ECOWAS Protocol within their national systems to ensure alignment with regional commitments.

The Communique also stressed the need for continued collaboration with civil society organizations (CSOs), youth, and media networks to enhance advocacy and public participation in the fight against corruption.

The AGA expressed deep appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu “for his steadfast support and for declaring the Assembly open” on Tuesday, October 14, 2024 .

Tinubu, while declaring open AGA on Tuesday, called on ECOWAS, to designate resource theft particularly illegal mining, and mineral smuggling as international crimes, warning that the menace poses a grave threat to the peace, stability, and economic prosperity of the subregion.

“The time has come for ECOWAS to designate resource theft, illegal mining and stealing of minerals as an international crime that threatens the stability of the region, and galvanize the world against trade in stolen minerals from West Africa,” he said.

New member institutions were admitted into NACIWA, including the Code of Conduct Bureau( Nigeria). AGA also “welcomes the participation of CPC Cabo Verde as a new member”.