{"id":72204,"date":"2020-03-15T16:39:39","date_gmt":"2020-03-15T15:39:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=72204"},"modified":"2020-03-15T16:39:39","modified_gmt":"2020-03-15T15:39:39","slug":"we-have-no-record-of-spending-on-5bn-abacha-loot-nigerian-govt-tells-serap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/exclusive\/we-have-no-record-of-spending-on-5bn-abacha-loot-nigerian-govt-tells-serap\/","title":{"rendered":"We have no record of spending on $5bn Abacha loot’, Nigerian govt tells SERAP"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
The Federal Government has told Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability<\/div>\n
\n
Project (SERAP) that it “has no records of the exact amount of public
\nfunds stolen by a former military head of state, Sani Abacha and no
\nrecords of the spending of about $5 billion recovered loot for the
\nperiod between 1999 and 2015.”<\/p>\n

The government’s response followed SERAP’s Freedom of Information (FoI)
\nrequests sent to Mr Abukabar Malami, SAN, Attorney General of the
\nFederation and Minister of Justice and Mrs Zainab Ahmed, Minister of
\nFinance, Budget and National Planning, requesting: “information on the
\nexact amount of public funds stolen by Abacha, and details of spending
\nof about $5 billion recovered loot since the return of democracy in
\n1999.”<\/p>\n

According to SERAP, only Mr Malami has sent a reply to its FoI requests.
\nIn the reply dated 26 February 2020 but which SERAP said it received 9
\nMarch 2020, Mr Malami said: “We have searched our records and the
\ninformation on the exact amount of public funds stolen by Abacha and how
\nrecovered loot was spent from 1999–2015 is not held by the Ministry.”<\/p>\n

Mr Malami also said: “However, a total of $322 million was recovered
\nfrom Switzerland in January 2018 and the funds were used for Social
\nInvestment Project. Also, $308 million was recovered from the Island of
\nJersey in collaboration with the USA. While awaiting the transfer of the
\nmoney to Nigeria, it has been designated for the following projects:
\nLagos\u2014Ibadan Expressway; Abuja\u2014Kano Expressway, and Second Niger
\nBridge.”<\/p>\n

Dissatisfied with Mr Malami’s reply, SERAP deputy director Kolawole
\nOluwadare said: “The failure to provide information on the exact amount
\nstolen by Abacha and on spending of recovered loot for the period
\nbetween 1999 and 2015 implicitly amounts to a refusal by the government.
\nThe government also failed to provide sufficient details on the spending
\nand planned spending of the $630 million it said it recovered since
\n2018.”<\/p>\n

In the statement dated 15 March, 2020, SERAP said: “in the circumstances
\nand given that Mrs Zainab Ahmed has failed and\/or refused to response to
\nour FoI request, we are finalising the papers for legal actions under
\nthe FoI Act to compel the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to
\nfully and effectively comply with our requests.”<\/p>\n

Mr Malami’s reply with reference number MJ\/FOI\/REQ\/035\/11\/34, was signed
\non his behalf by Hamza Adeyinka Omolara, Principal Counsel at the
\nMinistry of Justice.<\/p>\n

It would be recalled that SERAP’s FoI requests expressed: “concerns that
\nsubstantial part of the estimated $5 billion returned Abacha loot since
\n1999 may have been diverted, re-stolen or mismanaged, and in any case
\nremain unaccounted for.”<\/p>\n

The FoI requests dated 14 February 2020, read in part: “the Federal
\nGovernment should disclose details of projects executed with the Abacha
\nloot and their locations, details of companies and contractors involved
\nin the execution of any such projects, details of all the agreements on
\nthe loot, the roles played by the World Bank and other actors, as well
\nas the implementation status of all projects since 1999.”<\/p>\n

“Publishing the details of projects on which Abacha loot has been spent
\nwould allow the public to know the specific projects carried and the
\nareas of the country in which the projects have been implemented as well
\nas the officials that may be responsible for any alleged diversion or
\nmismanagement of the loot.”<\/p>\n

“According to our information, a special panel set up on 23 July 1998 by
\nthe former head of state General Abdulsalami Abubakar to probe the late
\nmilitary dictator General Sani Abacha stated that he stole over $5
\nbillion between 1993 and 1998 when he was in power. Much of the stolen
\npublic funds have been returned to Nigeria.”<\/p>\n

“The report by the panel shows that the government recovered some $635
\nmillion, \u00a375 million, DM 30 million and N9 billion as well as several
\nvehicles and properties in Abuja, Lagos and Kano together with 40%
\ninterests in West African Refinery in Sierra Leone. Other assets were
\nrecovered from the Abacha family and associates.”<\/p>\n

“Furthermore, former president Olusegun Obasanjo administration also
\nreportedly recovered over $2 billion of Abacha loot. Mr Obasanjo would
\nseem to confirm this fact when he stated in the second volume of his
\nbook titled My Watch that: ‘by the time I left office in May 2007, over
\n$2 billion and \u00a3100 million had been recovered from the Abacha family
\nabroad, and N10 billion in cash and properties locally.'”<\/p>\n

“Similarly, former president Goodluck Jonathan administration reportedly
\nrecovered $226.3 million and \u20ac7.5 Million from Liechtenstein. Some \u00a322.5
\nmillion was also recovered from the Island of Jersey while $322 million
\nand \u00a35.5 million from the Abacha loot were reportedly returned to the
\ngovernment.”<\/p>\n

“The government of president Muhammadu Buhari has also recovered several
\nmillions of dollars of Abacha loot since assuming office in May 2015,
\nincluding $321 million from Switzerland, and $300 million from the US
\nand Jersey.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Federal Government has told Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) that it “has no records of the exact amount of public funds stolen by a former military head of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49993,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\nWe have no record of spending on $5bn Abacha loot', Nigerian govt tells SERAP - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/exclusive\/we-have-no-record-of-spending-on-5bn-abacha-loot-nigerian-govt-tells-serap\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"We have no record of spending on $5bn Abacha loot', Nigerian govt tells SERAP - 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