The Federal Government, on Thursday, said it is working with the Finish authorities for the extradition of Simon Ekpa to face prosecution for offences he allegedly committed against national security and sovereignty of the country.
The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN stated this on Thursday at the quarterly stakeholders and citizens engagement programme organised by his ministry in Abuja.
According to him, with Nigeria’s collaboration and cooperation with the international community, there will be no safe haven for criminals and added that, the Federal Ministry of Justice has successfully extradited two fugitives, Hassan Bun Hussein Abolore Lawal in January 2025 and Okechukwu Josiah Odunna in March, 2025 to the United States of America.
The country also cooperated with the Qatari authorities for the extradition of one Benjamin Nnanyereugo, a.k.a Killaboi, from Qatar back to Nigeria in April, 2025, to face murder charges for the unlawful killing of his girlfriend, Augusta.
He said, the Ministry also recorded notable gains in asset recovery and management, “Of significance is the gazetting of the Proceeds of Crime Regulations, 2024 to provide a standardized automated asset forfeiture management system as well as the development of the National Database on Asset Recovery and Management to ensure transparency in the asset recovery and management process.
“Nigeria executed an Asset Sharing Agreement with the United States of America on 10th January 2025 which led to the repatriation of the Galactica Assets in the sum of $52,882,018.95 from the USA.
“Out of the recovered sum, US$50 million would be deployed to funding the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-Up (DARES) Project which is an initiative of the Federal Government to provide electricity access to 17.5 million Nigerians, while the remaining sum of US$2.88 million will be deployed to counter-terrorism capacity building for Criminal Justice Sector practitioner.
“There are also ongoing discussions and actions on pending recoveries in foreign jurisdictions like the U.S.A, Bailiwick of Jersey and France. It is hoped that we can conclude these negotiations soon in order to ensure that more of our funds hidden in various jurisdictions are repatriated to Nigeria”, he said.
Fagbemi announced that the Ministry had successfully prosecuted 226 terrorism suspects in December 2024 alone and introduced a Joint Case Team (JCT) on cybercrime to foster inter-agency collaboration, improve investigation processes, and ensure effective prosecutions in alignment with global best practices.
To tackle cybercrime and emerging digital threats, the Ministry, he said, initiated reforms under the Cybercrimes Act and began reviewing the legal framework to address evolving trends and added that, “Cybercrime is a borderless offence, and our response must be equally agile and coordinated”.
On safeguarding vulnerable groups, Fagbemi disclosed an ongoing review of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act to better protect survivors and introduce a Victims’ Support Fund.
He said, the Ministry also secured convictions in six cases of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), including that of Peter Nwachukwu, the husband of late gospel singer Osinachi Nwachukwu.
“In international cooperation, Nigeria recorded key extraditions of fugitives, including from the United States and Qatar, and is pursuing others in jurisdictions like Finland. Asset recovery efforts led to the return of over $52 million under a bilateral agreement with the U.S., with the majority earmarked for renewable energy projects and capacity-building in counter-terrorism”.
He said, the Federal Government has commenced the review of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act, in order to enhance the current legislative framework for protecting vulnerable persons,
The proposed bill, the AGF said, seeks to reform the law, providing better protection for victims, revising imprisonment terms and fines, and introducing a Victims’ Support Fund for survivors.
He said the considerable improvement recorded by his ministry in the prosecution of crimes under its purview was, as a result of extant policies and actions targeted at improving the capacity of prosecutors, increasing synergy amongst prosecuting agencies, developing appropriate policy framework in collaboration with office of the NSA and other law enforcement or security agencies.
The Ministry’s capacity development efforts, according to the Minister were conducted in key areas of general investigation and prosecution strategy, cyber security, forensic analysis and electronic evidence, financial investigation and prosecution, energy-related offences, piracy and other maritime offences, including sexual and gender based violence.
In order to enhance response to cyber-crime, Fagbemi said, the Ministry engaged in effective collaboration with relevant stakeholders, which led to the establishment of a Joint Case Team (JCT) on cyber-crime, comprising the Ministry, Law Enforcement Agencies and the Judiciary in April, 2025.
“This initiative was conceived in response to the need for a coordinated and robust approach to combating cybercrimes as outlined in the Cyber-crimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act, 2015.
The AGF explained that cybercrime is one of the emerging crimes which is cross-border in nature and requires national and international cooperation to effectively combat, saying that, a critical component of international cooperation is strong inter-agency collaboration at the national level, which is vital when addressing complex and constantly evolving crimes”.
According to the Chief Law Officer of the country, the integration of prosecutors in investigative processes significantly enhances the quality of evidence collection and case outcomes.
He reaffirmed the commitment of the Federal Government to upholding the rule of law, ensuring equitable access to justice, and building a justice system that is fair, transparent, and responsive to the needs of all citizens.
“We are determined to foster a justice sector that inspires confidence and delivers on its mandate to serve the people. We shall remain steadfast in our dedication to fostering a justice system that is fair, efficient, and upholds the highest standards of integrity by safeguarding the rights of all and promoting equitable and speedy access to justice”, he said.
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