Economic Community of West African States says it is planning a protocol

that will mandate the Western world to pay interest on repatriated loot and

arfefacts.

The President of the Network of Anti-Corruption Institutions in West Africa,

Ola Olukoyede, who disclosed this at the 6th Annual General Assembly of the

organization in Abuja said, it was unfair for the Western countries to simply

return looted funds and artefacts without paying interests on them, while,

the current United Nations protocol and other legal instruments being used

for loot repatriation did not address the peculiar need for interest payment,

saying ECOWAS could come up with a special protocol for this purpose.

Olukoyede also said, the protocol would ensure that the stolen artefacts

were not only returned but that interest was paid on the revenue generated

from them, while, the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices

Commission and other related offences Commission, Musa Aliyu (SAN),

urged ECOWAS countries to leverage technology in their fight against

corruption.

He said, the group must enhance the fight against corruption through

digitalization. Utilizing technology and digital tools that can aid anti-

corruption operatives in identifying and dismantling corrupt networks, while,

Corruption’s sophisticated nature demands innovative strategies and

technology to effectively implement the ECOWAS protocol.