Former Chief of Army Staff, General Ishaya Rizi Bamaiyi (retd) has
\ndisclosed that the reference to \u2018Abacha\u2019s loot\u2019 is farcical, saying the
\nterm is a media creation used to refer to funds the then military
\ngovernment agreed to deposit in foreign countries to meet international
\nobligations.<\/p>\n
In his tell-all book, \u2018Vindication of a General\u2019 that was presented to the \u201cI am however in a position to say what I know led to the transfer of \u201cA decision was therefore reached to keep money in some countries that \u201cThe purchase of this ammunition within a short while also brought me into Former Chief of Army Staff, General Ishaya Rizi Bamaiyi (retd) has disclosed that the reference to \u2018Abacha\u2019s loot\u2019 is farcical, saying the term is a media creation used to refer…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":57064,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n
\npublic on Thursday<\/span><\/span> in Abuja, the former army boss\u2019 memoir reveals: \u201cIt is
\nin this same spirit that I feel obliged to offer some insight into what
\nhas come to be known as \u2018Abacha loot.\u2019 A lot has been said about the
\nAbacha loot. It is the sexiest story that Nigerian journalists make from
\nheadlines. The social media is equally awash with all manners of comments,
\nincluding some expensive joke about Abacha. But even more importantly, the
\nsubject of money supposedly looted by the late General Abacha is a key
\nissue in Nigeria\u2019s diplomatic relationship with many Western countries. I
\nam not in a position to defend Abacha or suggest he did not tamper with
\nthe wealth of Nigeria, because I was not in a position to know how as a
\nHead of State he handled Nigeria\u2019s funds.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nfunds to some countries in Europe and may be other countries outside
\nEurope. It is a known fact that Nigerian was virtually abandoned by some
\nof its traditional Western allies during the Abacha government and it
\nbecame difficult for the country to purchase arms and ammunition to
\nconduct operations in Liberia and Sierra Leone at that time, especially
\nafter the execution of Ken Saro Wiwa. In the light of the increasingly
\nbattered international image of Nigeria and even references to Nigeria in
\nacademic circle as a \u201crogue\u201d state, some decisions had to be taken if
\nNigeria was to continue to play its role as a stabilizer in the West
\nAfrican region, a role very much valued by the United Nations.<\/p>\n
\nwere a bit friendly to Nigeria. This decision was taken at a meeting in
\nwhich the then Minister of Finance, Chief Anthony Ani, was present. It was
\nagreed that some funds be transferred to some selected countries to ensure
\nthat government was in a position to get vital imports as and when
\nnecessary. That informed the transfer of funds to some countries. I am
\nglad that Chief Anthony Ani, the then Finance Minister, once tried to
\nexplain this in a newspaper interview publication”.<\/p>\n
\nserious conflict with the security operatives, especially the DMI, as
\ncontractors who flew this ammunition into Kaduna, where the Army has an
\nArmy Ammunition Depot were invited for questioning on the ground that I
\nbrought in the ammunition with the intent of overthrowing General Abacha
\nGovernment. I was then out of Lagos and the contractors contacted me and
\ntold me what was happening. I told them not to worry and should not answer
\nany question. I believe that the security operatives contacted General
\nAbacha who must have told them that he approved the purchase of the
\nammunition. No one ever asked me or talked to me about this issue till I
\nretired from service”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"