Sudan’s Al-Bashir Follows Abacha’s Footsteps After Stealing $4 bn

By Tosin Olatokunbo

Ex-President Omar Al-Bahir has joined the league of thieving former African head of state such as Nigerian maximum ruler, General Sanni Abacha who stole billions of dollars from their people.

In their quest to amass public wealth for their families and cronies, the two former leaders stole enough public money to last them for generation.

But nemesis later crept on them as they were swept from power.

Abacha died in office and following his descent to the other side, over $5 billion has been recovered from the secrets account he kept abroad.

More are still being traced to secret accounts in the US and other parts of Europe.

Bashir who came to power in military coup in 1989 Omar Bashir went ahead to rule Sudan with an iron fist.

Within this period, the former Sudanese strongman amassed over $4 billion which he kept in secret accounts in Europe and Asia.

The bubble has now been burst by his country’s anti graft agency which said it has confiscated assets valued at $4 billion from former President al-Bashir, his family members and associates.

“Our initial estimates of the value of the assets, shares in different companies and buildings we have confiscated is $3.5 billion to $4 billion,” Salah Manaa, a spokesperson for the Anti-Corruption and Regime Dismantling Committee, said in an interview.

Ex President Bashir was overthrown in a coup following mass protests that he stepped down from 30 year rule.

He was later jailed in December after being found guilty of stealing millions of dollars in foreign currencies.

He has also been indicted by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity committed in the western region of Darfur.

Meanwhile, his successor, Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok has vowed to uproot any vestige of Al Bashir’s rule and recover plundered assets.

He said whatever is realized from the plunder will be used to bring his country’s economy back to its feet.

Hamdok’s has tried to salvage the economy after he was made prime minister in a power sharing arrangement with the military which ousted Al-Bashir.

Apart from recovering looted funds, the Sudanese leader has been negotiating an end to numerous civil conflicts, which if resolved, analysts insist could help slash huge defence spending, thus freeing enough funds for the government to spend on critical sectors such as health and education.