“They’ve Upgraded”: Rafsanjani Schools Osoba Over Call for Unlimited Cash Deposit To Recover Loot
- The new mechanism for looting public taxpayers' money has been unravelled, and there is a call for immediate action to curb it
- Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, the board chairman of Amnesty International (Nigeria), said looters now buy gold instead of acquiring properties like houses and plots of land
- This was in response to Olusegun Osoba's (ex-Ogun state governor) call for unlimited cash deposits to retrieve hoarded and looted funds from looters
Legit.ng journalist Segun Adeyemi has over 9 years of experience covering political events, civil societies, courts, and metro
FCT, Abuja - The executive director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Comrade Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, has slammed the ex-governor of Ogun State, Olusegun Osoba, for suggesting unlimited cash transfer in banks as a means of recovering loot.
The ex-governor and chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC) hinted in an interview on Arise TV that President Tinubu would soon issue a presidential order to effect unlimited cash deposits in banks.
Source: Facebook
Osoba stated that it was one of the recommendations he tabled before President Tinubu in their meeting at his residence during the yuletide.
The ex-governor said that once implemented, individuals hoarding money at home might be encouraged to retrieve and deposit it in banks.
Critiquing this recommendation, Rafsanjani, who also doubles as the chairman of the board of Amnesty International (Nigeria), told Legit.ng in an exclusive interview that looters have upgraded their methods of looting and that no looter would be foolish enough to bring the outrageous amount of money to the bank.
He said:
"I think we should be very careful. We should know that these people when they steal the money; is not the cash that they keep. They buy properties; they buy gold.
"In fact, most of the looters go to buy gold, no longer houses or plots of land."
"Looters now buy, no longer houses, or plots of land" - Rafsanjani to Osoba
Rafsanjani noted that these looters no longer keep cash at home; instead, they move them to other companies in the guise of a business account operated by another individual.
He said:
"No looter would go to the bank to deposit any large sum of money. With due respect, Segun Osoba appears not to be in tandem with the modern ways these looters loot money."
Osoba, on the other hand, expressed concern about the scarcity of the local currency, leading people to save in foreign denominations like $20 and $50 bills.
He also criticised the trend of scarce naira appearing at party venues, where hawkers sold the notes for a commission to those openly displaying and spraying the money.
Return stolen assets to original victims, Rafsanjani tells EFCC, ICPC, and others
Meanwhile, there is a serious campaign to enforce the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act of 2022.
The executive director of CISLAC, Comrade Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, said there is a need to put in place an appropriate legal framework to enforce the new law.
He, however, urged African leaders and Nigeria's president to return recovered assets to their real owners.
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Source: Legit.ng
Segun Adeyemi (Current Affairs and Politics Editor) Segun Adeyemi is a journalist with over 9 years of experience as an active field reporter, editor, and editorial manager. He has had stints with Daily Trust newspaper, Daily Nigerian, and News Digest. He currently works as an editor for Legit.ng's current affairs and politics desk. He holds a degree in Mass Communication (Adekunle Ajasin University). He is a certified digital reporter by Reuters, AFP and the co-convener of the annual campus journalism awards. Email: segun.adeyemi@corp.legit.ng.
Auwal Musa Rafsanjani (Human rights activist) Auwal Musa Rafsanjani is the chairman of the Board of Amnesty International, Nigeria, and executive director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC). Rafsanjani has been a member of Civil Liberties Organization and a member of The Center for Democracy and Human Rights. He was a founding member of Campaign for Democracy, led by late Beko Ransome Kuti, Democratic Alternative, also a member and coordinator of United Action for Democracy (UAD) led by Olisa Agbakoba.
