United States To Return $23 Million Looted Funds To Nigeria

The United States will turn over to Nigeria $23 million taken by former military ruler Sani Abacha, officials said at an event to sign the agreement on Tuesday, CNN reports.

Nigeria has reached several agreements to return stolen cash in recent years. Abacha ruled Africa's most populous nation and top oil exporter from 1993 until his death in 1998, during which time Transparency International estimated that he took up to $5 billion of public money. He was never charged.

US Ambassador Mary Beth Leonard said the cash was in UK accounts but was identified and frozen by US officials. She added that including the latest deal, the United States had agreed to repatriate more than $334.7 million linked to Abacha.

Attorney General Abubakar Malami said the funds would be used for infrastructure projects, including the Abuja-Kano road, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, and the second Niger bridge under the supervision of the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA).

"The president's mandate to my office is to ensure that all international recoveries are transparently invested and monitored by civil society organizations to compete for these three projects within the agreed timeline," Malami.

The US Justice Department has previously said that Nigeria must use money repatriated from funds looted by Abacha on agreed public projects or be forced to "replace" it.

In the past, Nigeria had secured the release of millions of dollars stashed in foreign accounts by the former dictator.

In 2017, the Swiss government released a statement announcing it had reached an agreement with Nigerian authorities and the World Bank on the return of $321 million to the West African country.

The released funds "will strengthen social security for the poorest sections of the Nigerian population," the statement said at the time.

In 2019, authorities in Jersey said they had seized more than $267 million from Abacha's family and associates. The laundered funds recovered from confiscated assets, belonging to the son of the late dictator, Mohammed Abacha, were found in a Channel Islands account held by a shell company.

The stolen funds were recovered and paid into a special recovery fund after a five-year legal battle and were agreed to be shared between the Nigerian government, Jersey, and the US government.

News Source CNN:CNN

Comments

The CBN Reverses Its Decision And Sets New Limit On New Naira Note Withdrawal

The Central Bank of Nigeria had initially stopped the withdrawal of the new Naira notes over the counter, directing commercial banks to instead dispense the cash through their Auto Teller Machines (ATM) to the public. Thursday, 2, February 2023, the apex bank has now backtracked on that decision, it is informing the commercial banks to resume over-the-counter withdrawal of the new N200, N500 and N1,000 notes. The Central Bank of Nigeria, has set a new directive of a maximum daily payout limit of N20,000, consisting of redesigned Naira notes, to each customer. “In line with this resolve, the Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, has directed deposit money banks (DMBs) to commence the payment of the redesigned Naira notes over the counter, subject to a maximum daily payout limit of N20,000. “We also admonish members of the public to embrace and adopt other payment channels for their transactions. “The Naira is our legal tender and symbol of national pride. Therefore, let us resp...

Kaduna, 2 Churches Attacked By Terrorist, 3 Persons Killed And 36 Abducted

In the early hours of Sunday, two churches, the Maranatha Baptist Church and the St. Moses Catholic Church, all in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State were stormed by suspected terrorists. According to the Vanguard News, a former Special Adviser on Media to the Governor of Kaduna State, Mr.Reuben Buhari said the attack on Roboh village, Kajuru LGA where 36 people were kidnapped and 3 killed wasn’t the first attack. According to him, "attack) on rural communities by kidnappers have been going on without respite. Most go unannounced, unreported.” “The attack on Roboh village, Kajuru LGA today where 36 people were kidnapped and 3 killed wasn’t the first attack. On 5th January 2022, it was attacked and some kidnapped. On 27 April, 2020, the community was attacked again and this time some houses were burnt. Then the attack of today, 19 June, 2022.” He said because of the constant attacks on the community and surrounding ones, “the people in the village decided to start holdin...

Festus Keyamo: I Can Drive From Abuja To Kaduna Without Escorts. I Can Do It!

The Minister of State for Labour, Mr Festus Keyamo, during an interview on Channels TV, says he can drive from Abuja to Kaduna without security escorts. On the interview session on live TV, he was quizzed on if he could drive despite the security challenges, the minister of state for labour and employment, who is also the spokesperson of the presidential campaign of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) said: “Some people do, I can do it. I can do it. I saw headlines last week saying that I said insecurity has been brought to an all-time low by Buhari. I didn’t say so. It’s still the season of wrong headlines. I said what we met on the ground, Boko Haram in the north-east. I was specific and so they quoted me generally to say Boko Haram and insecurity throughout the whole country. I only said Boko Haram in the north-east, it has not been totally wiped out, but we have reduced this significantly. “All the roads that lead to Chibok and Damboa in Borno, they are now passable. The...

Welcome To Echo Blog

Search This Blog