The Federal Government is now set to seize assets of some former governors and ministers after President Muhammadu Buhari signed the extradition pact with the UAE, The Nation reports.

The funds traced to them, which are believed to have been looted, are to be frozen and repatriated to Nigeria.

They are currently being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

From the records at the Land Registry in the UAE, most of the properties have been traced for forfeiture with the UAE authorities.

Those reportedly under investigation are seven former governors, seven ex-ministers, four businessmen, a former chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a former Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service, a former presidential assistant indicted in the $2.1billion arms deals and a former First Lady.

Two of the assets have been traced to a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke.

A source said, “With the signing of the agreements, a major hurdle has been cleared and this will enable us to proceed with the application for the seizure of the assets of more than 22 highly-placed Nigerians who have been under probe for alleged money laundering.

“Before the pact, the UAE law mandates any foreign anti-graft agency to seek the consent of the owner of any property being verified before you can have access to same. But now, the anti-graft agencies in Nigeria can send a list of suspected assets to the UAE authorities through the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Mutual Legal Assistance will be invoked.

“Our task is made easier because the Land Registry System is digitalised in a manner that it will not take five minutes to obtain information on anyone suspected of money laundering.

“The onus is on us to present sufficient facts on why some of these assets should be seized. We will show evidence of corrupt practices, the laundering of public funds and the purchase of the suspected assets with looted funds.”

“We are set to go with the seizure of eight apartments. But out of the eight identified, two apartments linked with Diezani are marked as J5 Emirates Hills (30million Dirham) and E146 Emirates Hills valued at 44million Dirham,” the source added.

The former governors, include one from the Southsouth, two from Northcentral, two from the Northeast, one from the Northwest, and one from the Southwest.

“We also have the case of a former-governor who failed in his bid to transfer about $517million loot to Dominican Republic from the UAE. We will want to seize the cash,” the official said.