The Peoples Republic of China said it had arrested 3,339 fugitives who
fled to Nigeria and 89 other countries to escape prosecution for
corruption.
This was revealed by the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Ambassador Zhou
Pingjian, who stated that 628 of the suspects were former officials from
whom N468bn (9.36bn yuan) was recovered.
Speaking on the theme, ‘Global significance of the 19th CPC National
Congress and its implications for Africa,’ at a colloquium on the ongoing
19th national congress of the Communist Party of China organised by the
Centre for China Studies, Pingjian noted that the party fought corruption
head-on because it was aware that graft remained the greatest threat to
its existence.
He added that the current CPC leadership launched an aggressive
high-profile anti-corruption campaign which according to him brought down
a number of high-level officials, known as ‘Tigers’ and their accomplices
at the grassroots level.
The diplomat said, “More than 70,000 officials, including 42 members or
alternate members of the CPC Central Committee, have been investigated for
suspected corruption since the 18th national congress.
“China also worked with the international community to hunt corruption
suspects who had fled overseas; 3,339 were captured from more than 90
countries and regions, including Nigeria. About 9.36bn yuan was
recovered.”
Pingjian expressed the belief that the CPC would make more determined
efforts to accomplish the tasks of advancing modernisation drive,
reunifying China and upholding world peace and common development.