By Fola James
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami has absolved the Muhammadu Buhari administration of mismanaging looted funds recovered from late maximum ruler, General Sanni Abacha.
The nation’s chief law officer, said three ex-presidents: Olusegun Obasanjo, Late Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan should be made to account for the returned funds.
“We have searched our records and the information on the exact amount of public funds stolen by Abacha and how recovered loot was spent from 1999–2015 is not held by the Ministry,” Malami said in reply to SERAP, a human rights body investigating how the funds were spent by the federal government.
Between 1993 and 1998, the military head of state was believed to have stolen over $5billion from the federal government.
Parts of the alleged stolen funds were kept in shell accounts in Europe and the United States of America, USA.
Following his demise in 1998, a huge part has been returned to the federal government under successive civilian administrations, since 1999 when President Obasanjo took over power.
But recently, suggestions have loomed that the recovered funds could have been stolen or diverted to private pockets, by the successive presidents and their cronies.
President Buhari’s administration has not been spared in the allegation.
To get to the bottom of the issue, SERAP, recently wrote letters, under the Freedom of Information Act, to the AGF and Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, requesting: “information on the exact amount of public funds stolen by Abacha, and details of spending of about $5 billion recovered loot since the return of democracy in 1999.”
SERAP also copied the Minister of Budget and National Planning.
Only the AGF has responded to the letter so far, SERAP said.
In his reply, the minister said President Buhari did not divert or mismanaged part of the looted funds received by his administration.
Malami said “a total of $322 million was recovered from Switzerland in January 2018 and the funds were used for Social Investment Project.
Also, $308 million was recovered from the Island of Jersey in collaboration with the USA.”
The AGF stated that the administration has also earmarked part of the recovered funds for some special projects.
The federal government, he said is “awaiting the transfer of the money to Nigeria, it has been designated for the following projects: Lagos—Ibadan Expressway; Abuja—Kano Expressway, and Second Niger Bridge.”
But SERAP has expressed dissatisfaction with Malami’s response on the matter, insisting that government is a continuum, that it’s a failure on the part of the administration to take full account of Abacha loot.
It said the Buhari administration is taking Nigerians for granted.
“The failure to provide information on the exact amount stolen by Abacha and on spending of recovered loot for the period between 1999 and 2015 implicitly amounts to a refusal by the government,” SERAP said.
Adding that “The government also failed to provide sufficient details on the spending and planned spending of the $630 million it said it recovered since 2018.”
SERAP said it’s now prepared to go to court on the matter.
“In the circumstances and given that Mrs Zainab Ahmed has failed and/or refused to response to our FoI request, we are finalising the papers for legal actions under the FoI Act to compel the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to fully and effectively comply with our requests,” the rights group said.
According to investigations, former President Obasanjo administration recovered over $2 billion of Abacha loot.
On its part, President Jonathan administration reportedly recovered $226.3 million and €7.5 Million from Liechtenstein.
His administration also recovered £22.5 million from the Island of Jersey aside $322 million and £5.5 million received by his government.
So far the government of President Muhammadu has recovered several millions of dollars of the loot, including $321 million from Switzerland, and $300 million from the US and Jersey since it came to power in 2015, more are still being expected, the magazine has learnt.
