Nigeria seizes 40 SUVs from ex-top civil servant

By Rafiu Ajakaye

LAGOS, Nigeria (AA) - Nigeria has seized at least 40 new sports utility vehicles (SUVs) from one former senior civil servant as part of the government's efforts to fight public corruption, Information Minister Lai Mohamed said on Thursday.

Mohamed did not name the official, but he said his case represents one of the success stories of President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption war, contrary to claims that the administration lacks a clear strategy to prosecute the corrupt.

“The strategy has proven so effective that it has led to, among others, the recovery of 40 brand-new SUVs and other vehicles from one former permanent secretary who single-handedly appropriated the vehicles to himself when he left office,” said Mohamed.

He said the government is not just fixated on prosecution alone but is also taking preventive measures to make corruption unattractive.

Mohamed said other measures have been introduced to strengthen the fight, such as establishing a presidential committee on asset recovery and asset-tracing committee, setting up an asset register, and a whistle-blower policy that would see credible informants get between 2.5-5 percent of recovered funds.