Reps probe police over ‘missing’ $7.5m recovered loot

The House of Representatives has ordered the Nigeria Police Force to disclose the whereabouts of the sum of $7.5m, being a part of N37.5m recovered by the security agency in 2017, as proceeds of crime.

Besides, the House panel also demanded details of a N360m recovered as bribery from 26 officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission conducting the 2019 governorship election in Rivers State.

The police had at an investigative hearing by an ad hoc committee of the House investigating the assessment and status of all recovered loot, movable and immovable assets from 2002 to 2020 at the resumed hearing Tuesday, admitted to a lodgment of only $30m in a Central Bank of Nigeria account, from the total proceeds, but however, failed to account for  the balance of $7.5m.

The agency also failed to explain to the Adejoro Adeogun- led panel, how a document submitted before the committee, claimed that on the 10th March, 2017, separate amounts of N4.198m, N26,714,224.195 and N3.85bn were lodged by the police, but did not reflect on any account at the CBN.

Earlier, the House committee had lambasted the representative of the Inspector General of Police, DIG D. O. Ogbunike

The lawmakers accused the police of a lack of recovery account to pay in proceeds of loot, with representative of the  Accountant General corroborating same.

The lawmakers said the attitude of the police, “gives the impression that police just pays tithes from recoveries”.

The chairman of the committee queried that “ Does the Inspector General give monthly returns on items recovered as proceeds from criminals? “, adding that “from our findings, the police system is too opaque. The system makes stealing easy; it does.”