BEYOND ASSET RECOVERY: THE ROLE OF THE EFCC IN ADVANCING SOCIO-ECONOMIC RIGHTS THROUGH THE ADMINISTRATION AND UTILIZATION OF FORFEITED ASSETS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The relationship between corruption and the denial of socio-economic rights has attracted considerable scholarly attention in Nigeria. However, existing literature has focused primarily on the investigative and prosecutorial functions of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), with limited attention to the administration and utilization of recovered assets. This paper argues that the effectiveness of anti-corruption enforcement depends not only on the recovery of illicit assets but also on whether those assets are transparently administered and translated into measurable public benefit. Using doctrinal and analytical methods, the paper examines the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act 2004 and the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act 2022, with particular emphasis on the legal framework governing the management and utilization of forfeited assets. It develops the concept of the Asset Recovery Accountability Gap to describe the absence of a legally enforceable mechanism for tracing recovered assets to socio-economic outcomes. The paper contends that, although Nigeria’s asset recovery regime provides extensive powers for the recovery and management of proceeds of crime, it does not require transparent reporting on their ultimate utilization or their contribution to the realization of socio-economic rights. It concludes that the success of anti-corruption enforcement should be measured not merely by the value of assets recovered but by the transparency, accountability, and public value generated through their administration. The paper proposes a rights-based framework that strengthens the traceability and accountability of recovered assets within Nigeria’s constitutional system of public finance.