PROFILE OF MR. EMMANUEL AKOMAYE, MFR.

Emmanuel A. Akomaye attended universities of Calabar and Ibadan, Nigeria and obtained BA (Hons.) History and LL. B in 1986 and 1990 respectively. He was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1991. He also holds an LLM in oil and gas and is due for the award of the first ever Masters in anti-Corruption Studies in December 2014 from the United Nations International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA), Vienna-Austria.

He commenced private legal practice after his call to the bar in the famous law firm of Kanu G. Agabi, SAN and Associates until 1999 when he was appointed Special Assistant to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice of Nigeria. He held this office until May 2003 when he was appointed as the pioneer Director- General/Secretary of the leading Nigerian anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). On successful completion of the first term he was re-appointed for second and final term in 2008, tenure he meritoriously completed in 2013.

As assistant to the Minister, he covered sensitive duties including participating in the privatization of major government enterprises and processes for the removal of Nigeria from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) List of Non-Cooperating Countries and Territories, an assignment he continued to handle as a member of the Special Presidential Task Force constituted for the FATF process since 2003. He was pivotal in the establishment of the FATF styled regional anti-money laundering body, GIABA based in Dakar, Senegal in 2004 and was the Pioneer Chair of the ECOWAS Network of Anti-corruption Agencies in West Africa from 2009-2011. As a member of the Presidential Task Team, he participated in the drafting of legislation on anti money laundering, terrorism and terrorist financing and followed them through passage into law by the National Assembly.

He also covered the asset recovery desk in the EFCC and became a member of the Federal Team under the chairmanship of the Attorney General for the recovery of stolen assets domestically and internationally. He was a member of the Commonwealth Assets Recovery Working Group from 2004-2005 that prepared a blueprint for Commonwealth Heads on asset recovery best approaches and was also a member of the World Bank/UNODC (Stolen Assets Recovery Initiative (StAR) team that conducted a special study on Enforcing Foreign Bribery Laws and Implications for Asset Recovery 2011-2012.

As Secretary of the EFCC, he successfully managed and implemented a $32 million grant by the EU/UNODC to the EFCC and also the World Bank grant of $3 million.

He has delivered conference and seminar papers and served in high level panels across the globe on corruption and money laundering.
He was appointed the National Focal Person for the Review of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) in 2010, a position he still holds.

He is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, International Bar Association, American Bar Association, the Institute of Chartered Mediation and Conciliation, a member of the US International Visitors Leadership Programs and an Alumnus of the Kennedy School of Governance of Harvard University.
 
For his distinguished career in the public service, Mr. Akomaye was honored with the National Honour of Member of the Federal Republic (MFR) in 2008.