Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Lamorde, has asked countries keeping Nigeria’s stolen wealth to quickly reject and return the funds so as to prove their rejection of corruption.

Lamorde threw the challenge Monday when he hosted the leadership of Amnesty International, an international human rights advocacy, who met with him in Abuja.

The chairman claimed that the funds being stolen and stashed abroad by corruption officials in Nigeria, was preventing the country from providing basic services to the people thereby adding to the poverty level in the land.

He described corruption and impunity as the worst form of human rights abuse, which AI must help to end to move society forward.

Lamorde said: ‘‘Western countries must end the impoverisation of developing countries. They must reject and return stolen funds, so that respective governments of the affected developing countries could use the money to better the lives of the poor in their countries.

“It is the common wealth of the people that has been diverted for private use. So, it is the worst form of human rights abuse. When corruption and impunity become the order of the day, human rights abuses flourish.

‘‘When you consider the cause of water-borne diseases suffered by people in rural areas, it is because someone has diverted the funds meant for pipe borne water in those areas.

“Also, when you consider the fact that our hospitals lack the basic amenities, it is because some people have kept the funds allocated to the hospitals to themselves…”

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