54 African Nations to Gather in Abuja to Discuss Recovery of Stolen Funds

Representatives from 54 African countries will meet in Abuja from 17 to 20 November for the first General Assembly of the African Asset Recovery Practitioners’ Forum. This gathering aims to boost cooperation in tracking and recovering stolen public funds.

Hassan Mohamed, the Chairman of the Local Organising Committee, shared this news on Saturday during a pre-conference media briefing in Abuja.

Mr. Mohamed, who is also the Director of Special Services at the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, mentioned that some countries will join the meeting virtually.

He explained that the assembly will gather anti-corruption agencies and other groups involved in asset recovery. They will share experiences and create strategies to fight cross-border financial crimes.

“The purpose of the programme is to harmonise, to synergise, synthesise, come up with strategies to deal with this menace,” he said.

The assembly will take place at the Abuja Continental Hotel. It has the theme, “From Commitment to Action, Enhancing Africa’s Asset Recovery Architecture through Effective Implementation of the Common African Position on Asset Recovery (CAPAR).”

The forum started in Nairobi, Kenya, in April 2025. Its goal is to improve cooperation among African institutions that trace, freeze, confiscate and recover proceeds of crime.

The work focuses on implementing CAPAR, which the African Union adopted in February 2020. This framework aims to help recover assets that left Africa due to corruption and other financial crimes.

Nigeria proposed this policy, and African leaders accepted it at the AU’s 33rd Assembly in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Mr. Mohamed said African countries are still losing billions of dollars to corruption and illegal money flows. This situation deprives governments of funds needed for public services and development.

He mentioned that stolen assets often cross borders, making it essential for countries to cooperate in tracing and recovering them.

He also pointed out that recovering assets is not enough without proper management and accountability on how they will be used.

“Every successfully recovered public asset represents an opportunity to redirect resources towards the needs of citizens, improve public service delivery, strengthen institutions and rebuild confidence in governance systems,” he said.

Mr. Mohamed added that the ICPC will share information about recovered assets with the public, including who owns them and their status.

When asked if the commission would regularly publish this information, he said, “Definitely, ICPC will do that. Nothing is hidden. It’s a public document. Anything recovered is for the public. And so, ICPC will definitely declare anything and whatever has been recovered.”

However, he could not give specific figures on the value or number of assets Nigeria has recovered when asked if the country would provide this info at the assembly.

He stated that he did not have the details available at the briefing.

The commission has shared figures about its recovery efforts before. Its 2023 report showed N66.896 billion in assets recovered, seized, forfeited or restrained, which included N57.134 billion in cash recoveries.

In another update, the ICPC said it recovered N37.44 billion and $2.353 million through asset seizures and forfeitures in 2025.

Mr. Mohamed said the assembly will also let countries share information about their recovery programs. He noted that some governments do not make details about recovered assets public.

He said Nigerian authorities plan to take delegates to see how recovered assets are being used.

The assembly is expected to draw heads of anti-corruption agencies, asset recovery experts, Financial Intelligence Units and international development partners.

Participants will review how CAPAR is being implemented, discuss challenges facing asset recovery agencies and look at governance tools and action plans to improve cooperation.

Mr. Mohamed said the meeting should produce real commitments instead of just discussions and policy statements.

He urged journalists to monitor the outcomes and report if participating countries keep their promises.

He emphasized that African governments must ensure CAPAR goes beyond being a policy document and becomes a plan for real action at national and regional levels.