The federal government on Tuesday said the $311 million it received from looted funds by former dictator Sani Abacha will be used to fund ongoing projects in the country. “These funds have already been allocated, and will be used in full, for vital and decades-overdue infrastructure development: the second Niger Bridge, the Lagos-Ibadan and Abuja-Kaduna-Kano expressways,” presidential spokesman Garba Shehu said in a statement.
Shehu said the projects will help the government in creating tens of thousands of Nigerian construction jobs and local skills, which can be useful in future projects. The presidential spokesman said “part of the funds will also be invested in the Mambilla Power Project which, when completed, will provide electricity to some three million homes – over ten million citizens – in our country.”
The FG on Monday announced the repatriation of $311,797,866.11 recovered assets of Late General Sani Abacha. The money was repatriated from the United States and the Bailiwick of Jersey, the Attorney-General of Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, said in a statement. The statement, signed by Malami’s spokesman Umar Gwandu, disclosed that the litigation process for the return of the assets titled ‘Abacha III’ commenced in 2014 while the diplomatic process that culminated in the signing of the Asset Return Agreement commenced in 2018.
Shehu noted that the receipt of these stolen monies that have already been returned from the United Kingdom and Switzerland are an opportunity for the development of Nigeria. He disclosed that the previous monies returned last year from Switzerland – about $320 million US dollars are being used for the government’s free school feeding scheme, a stipend for millions of disadvantaged citizens, and grain grants for citizens in severe food hardship.
The presidential spokesman noted that the latest return is a testament to the growing and deepening relationship between the government of Nigeria and the government of the United States. “Without the cooperation both from the UK Government, the US Executive branch and US Congress, we would not have achieved the return of these funds at all,” Shehu said.
According to Malami, the significant increase in the $308 million initially mentioned in February this year followed accruing interest between February 3 and April 28 when the fund was transferred to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). He noted that the suit for the repatriation of the assets titled “Abacha III” commenced in 2014, while the diplomatic process that culminated in the signing of the Asset Return Agreement on February 3 by the governments of Nigeria, U.S. and the Bailiwick of Jersey began in 2018.
His words: “This agreement is based on international law and cooperation measures that set out the procedures for the repatriation, transfer, disposition and management of the assets. “The recovery effort is a further consolidation on the established record of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government which has a history of recovery of $322 million from Switzerland in 2018, which is being transparently and judiciously deployed in supporting indigent Nigerians as specified in the agreement signed with Switzerland and the World Bank.”
Malami, who led the negotiation team, observed that the tripartite pact was a watershed in international asset recovery and repatriation, as it provides benefit to victims of corruption. “In line with the 2020 Asset Return Agreement, the fund has been transferred to a Central Bank of Nigeria asset recovery designated account and would be paid to the National Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) within the next 14 days. The NSIA is responsible for the management and execution of the projects to which the funds will be applied,” he clarified.
The minister stated that government had committed that the assets would be deployed to hasten construction works on three critical infrastructure in the country, namely the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, Abuja-Kano highway and the second Niger Bridge. He hinted that the current administration was establishing a monitoring team to oversee the projects and give situational reports on a regular basis.
To ensure transparent management of the returned assets, the Buhari government is to engage a civil society organization with requisite expertise in infrastructure, civil engineering, anti-corruption compliance, anti-human trafficking conformity and procurement to provide additional oversights. The AGF said the engagement process had begun in earnest, as adverts had been placed in two national dailies to pick a suitable manager.
