BREAKING NEWS: President Buhari Wants More Than Jail Terms For Looters

President Muhammadu Buhari has advocated for more than jail terms for people who loot their nation’s wealth, noting that full asset recovery will serve as a more effective deterrence.

The president said this while addressing world leaders at the first edition of the Paris Peace Forum in France on Sunday, November 11, 2018.

He called for a harder crackdown on perpetrators of illicit financial flows to discourage more public officials from mismanaging their nation’s resources to the detriment of poor and vulnerable populace.

During his statement on “Illicit Financial Flows (Iffs) and Corruption: The Challenge of Global Governance”, he said the threat of jail terms is not strong enough to deter perpetrators.

He said a more effective punishment would be to fully recover the profits and assets generated from illicit financial flows and corruption.

He said, “Our experience in Nigeria is that financial crimes, such as corruption and fraudulent activities, generate enormous unlawful profits which often prove so lucrative that the threat of a jail term is not sufficient to deter perpetrators.

“A more powerful deterrent is to ensure that profits and assets generated from illicit financial flows and corruption are recovered and returned to countries of origin.

“This is not to underestimate the value of strong institutions. It only indicates that asset recovery represents significant deterrence compared to the traditional focus on obtaining conviction by the law enforcement agencies of the countries of origin.”