Buhari says he's frustrated by looters hiding money abroad

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed his frustration with public officials who loot Nigerias treasury and stash their loots abroad to deny Nigerians of viable resources that could develop the nation.

The president made this known while addressing the Nigerian community in Paris, France on Monday, November 12, 2018. He's currently in the European nation with other world leaders for the first edition of the Paris Peace Forum.

"I am doing my best now to utilize our resources to develop the country. We are already getting results on road, rail and power. My frustration is that some people still have plenty stolen money stashed in Europe, US and other countries," he said.

According to a statement signed by the president's media aide, Femi Adesina, he assured Nigerians on Monday that allocations to the educational sector will be improved as revenue increases, describing the sector as a major engine for the development of any country.

He said, "We are currently reviewing investments in the entire infrastructure of the country like road, rail and power, including investing more in education. We will certainly need to do more in education."

He further called on Nigerian elites to do more in contributing to the educational sector of the country. He expressed surprise that elites tolerated the fall in standards and structures of educational institutions despite oil windfalls in the past that would have made all the difference.

The president added that the return of stolen assets to the country will boost his administration's efforts in investing more in critical infrastructure.

Buhari wants more than jail terms for looters

President Muhammadu Buhari ece-auto-gen

While addressing world leaders at the first edition of the Paris Peace Forum in France on Sunday, November 11, 2018, President Buhari advocated for more than jail terms for looters.

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.

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 under-estimate 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."

The president also advocated for a crackdown on safe havens for corrupt assets as well as sanctions on lawyers, bankers, brokers, public officials and others whom he called 'transactional middlemen' who facilitate illicit financial flows.

He noted that Nigeria's Whistleblowing policy has facilitated the recovery of billions of naira from corrupt people. He said the recovered loot has been redirected to the development of critical infrastructure and programmes that will benefit all Nigerians.