Unexplained Wealth: Tightening the noose against criminals with strengthened institutions

Nigeria is grappling with the issue of unexplained wealth, and a recent launch of a three-volume work on financial law highlighted the need for stronger institutions, better records, and safeguards for legitimately acquired property. The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, emphasized that legal reforms must be accompanied by political and judicial reforms to ensure fair, transparent, and consistent application of anti-corruption laws.

He warned against a system where people with unexplained wealth escape scrutiny due to political connections, while those on the wrong side of politics face prosecution. Sanusi praised the trilogy for addressing mechanisms through which wealth can be siphoned from the economy, such as inflated contracts and subsidies. However, the author, Dr. Wahab Shittu, argued that building systems to establish how wealth was lawfully acquired is crucial.

He highlighted the need for integrated records in land ownership, taxation, banking, company ownership, and inheritance, noting that Nigeria lacks sufficient documentation for these areas. Shittu also challenged the idea that unexplained wealth orders alone could solve corruption and proposed a three-tier standard for explaining wealth: lawful source, documentary coherence, and proportionality.

He emphasized that a person subjected to an obligation to explain wealth must have a realistic opportunity to do so.