Lagos-based lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) has called for the prosecution of Nigerian public officers who are found to be holding foreign accounts in Panama.

According to him, ‘Private persons are not prohibited from keeping accounts wherever they like.

‘However, public officers have always been barred by the Code of Conduct Bureau and Code of Conduct Tribunal Act from operating foreign accounts in any manner whatsoever.

‘To that extent, former and serving public officers whose accounts have been published in the Panama Papers are liable to be prosecuted if they had failed to declare them in their asset declaration forms.

‘Secondly, the onus is on them to prove that any funds in such accounts emanated from their legitimate income.’

However, former Senate President, David Mark, who had been linked with the offshore assets scam had denied any link to the firms that were indicted in the report published in the Panama Papers.