The United Nation's Office  on Drug and Crime  (UNODC) has challenged the Federal Government on the lapses of its constitutional provision for immunity of public office holders, pointing out the need for it to institute the non-conviction based asset forfeiture legislation.

This proposal was made yesterday at a press briefing organised by UNODC in conjunction with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Senior Project Manager of UNODC, Oliver Stolpe, said the non-conviction based asset forfeiture which is a relatively new concept which is already in operation in some countries is important in countries where stolen assets are difficult to recover.

His words, "Non-conviction based asset forfeiture can provide a procedure that allows for confiscation of stolen assets without the need for a criminal conviction, but with built-in safeguards to protect basic procedural and human rights. It is being used with great success in a whole range of jurisdictions, which includes Canada, Colombia, Kuwait, South Africa, Switzerland, Thailand, USA and the UK.

According to him, the system can be essential when the wrongdoer is dead like in the case of the late Sani Abacha, where the culprit has fled the country or is immune from prosecution or cannot be prosecuted for health reasons. "Moreover, it can be used in  cases where circumstantial evidence shows that the assets the individual possesses cannot possibly be explained by any of his or her known sources of income", he explained.

The fundamental philosophy of the system, Stolpe posits, is that, "No person should be allowed to enjoy the proceeds derived from illicit activity even if circumstances will not permit the person to be punished directly under the criminal law. If crime indeed should not pay, then at the very least, the culprit should not be allowed to benefit from his ill-gotten wealth".

He justified the need for the legislation thus, "Stolen assets are difficult and sometimes impossible to trace. Even where it is possible to identify the assets, it may be impossible to bring the looters to justice and recover the funds. The more powerful the individuals involved are, and the more complex the systems they have put into place to hide the illicit source of their wealth, the more difficult it is for  investigators and prosecutors to build a case, obtain a conviction and successfully recover funds".