A civil society group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project
\n(SERAP) has sent an open letter to the US President Donald J. Trump urging
\nhis \u201cAdministration to attach and release to Nigeria some $500 million
\nworth of US-based proceeds of corruption traced to former Nigerian
\ndictator General Sani Abacha.\u201d<\/p>\n
The organization said that, \u201cthese proceeds are separate from the $480
\nmillion of Abacha-origin funds that have been forfeited to the US under an
\nAugust 2014 US federal district court order. SERAP\u2019s request is fully
\nconsistent with the UN Convention Against Corruption, which both the US
\nand Nigeria have ratified.\u201d<\/p>\n
SERAP in the letter dated 3 February 2017 and signed by the organization\u2019s
\nUS Volunteer Counsel Professor Alexander W. Sierck and executive director
\nAdetokunbo Mumuni, told Mr Trump that, \u201cthe US Department of Justice must
\npromptly initiate civil asset forfeiture proceedings against these
\nproceeds so as to fulfill several non-controversial commitments by the US
\nto assist Nigeria in recovering assets looted by former Nigerian
\ngovernment officials.\u201d<\/p>\n
The letter, a copy of which was sent to the US ambassador to Nigeria
\nStuart Symington, and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, reads in part:
\n\u201cSERAP urges your new Administration to initiate discussions with the
\nNigerian government to fulfill these objectives within an agreed framework
\nand timeline. Simultaneously, the Administration should instruct the
\nJustice Department to initiate civil asset forfeiture proceedings in
\nregard to the above-referenced $500 million in assets described above.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAny bilateral discussions between the US and Nigeria concerning these
\nassets should include clear acknowledgement of the significant role that
\ncivil society plays in asset recovery matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo that end, the respective governments ought to commit to promptly
\nsharing information with relevant civil society organizations on stolen
\nassets of Nigerian origin located in the US or otherwise subject to US
\njurisdiction. This proposed commitment is similar to one between the US
\nand Kenya as well as consistent with Articles 46(4) and 56 of the UN
\nConvention Against Corruption.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSERAP notes that Article 51 of the UN Convention against Corruption
\nprovides for the return of \u201ccorrupt\u201d assets to countries of origin as a
\nfundamental principle. Article 43 provides likewise. Similarly, under
\nArticles 47(3)(a) and (b) states parties have an obligation to return
\nforfeited or confiscated assets in cases of public corruption, as here, or
\nwhen the requesting party reasonably establishes either prior ownership or
\ndamages to the states.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn SERAP\u2019s judgment, some or all of these requirements have been met with
\nrespect to the $500 million in proceeds described above. A resolution
\nadopted by the Conference of States Parties to the UN Convention Against
\nCorruption in Panama in November 2013 reaffirms this obligation, by
\nrequiring state to make \u201cevery effort\u201d to return such proceeds. to the
\nvictim state.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNigeria\u2019s Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption has recently
\ninformed SERAP that the US Government has identified another $500 million
\nor so proceeds of Nigerian corruption subject to US jurisdiction.\u201d<\/p>\n
It would be recalled that last month the Chairman of the Presidential
\nAdvisory Committee Against Corruption, Professor Itse Sagay had raised the
\nalarm that Nigeria risked losing another $550m recovered from the Abacha
\nfamily to the government of\u00a0United States.<\/p>\n
Sagay said that the amount represented a separate tranche from the earlier
\n$480m forfeited to the US following a court judgment. According to him,
\n\u201cNigeria presently stands to lose another $550m recovered from the Abacha
\nfamily to the US, contrary to the earlier promise by the US to return same
\nto Nigeria.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A civil society group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent an open letter to the US President Donald J. Trump urging his \u201cAdministration to attach and release to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19332,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n