The Federal Government is currently developing an advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform aimed at combating corruption by instantly verifying the assets of public servants and flagging unexplained wealth.

Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), Dr. Abubakar Bello, revealed that the Bureau is at an advanced stage of developing a fully online asset declaration platform, expected to be ready by the first quarter of 2026.

According to him in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday, the AI platform will allow public servants to declare their assets from anywhere in the world, replacing the manual system which only addressed the problem of availability, not deep verification.

The new platform will be linked to essential national databases, including the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Bank Verification Number (BVN) system, land registries, and other relevant government records.

Bello hailed the digital system as a “game changer” because it will be directly linked with key government databases for instant verification.

Furthermore, Artificial Intelligence will be deployed to analyze the declarations. The AI platform is designed to compare a public servant’s net worth at the beginning and end of their tenure and would automatically flag instances of unexplained wealth or possible breaches of the Code of Conduct for further review.

As part of ongoing reforms, Dr. Bello confirmed that the CCB has started inviting ministers, permanent secretaries, and other senior officials for physical asset verification, clarifying that “verification is not investigation.”

He disclosed that the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, personally appeared before the Bureau to verify his assets, an action Bello described as a strong signal of leadership by example.

The CCB Chairman noted that the verification process had already led to interim forfeiture orders in cases where public servants failed to declare or could not explain the sources of their assets, including properties both within and outside Nigeria.

confirmed that some recovered funds had already been transferred to the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Bello warned public servants that failure to declare assets or refusal to honour verification invitations could trigger investigations and possible prosecution before the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

He urged strict compliance with the Bureau’s guiding principle: “Declare or Forfeit.” (Nigerian Tribune)

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