Nigeria

FG to spend $308m Abacha's loot on construction of Lagos-Ibadan expressway, others

Tuesday, February 04, 2020 at 4:23 PM by Wale Akinola

- The presidency has revealed how the federal government would spend $308m Abacha's loot

- US government had agreed to repatriate the loot back to Nigeria after the trilateral agreement

- Bashir Ahmad, a personal assistant to the president on new media, said the laundered funds would be used for the construction of Lagos-Ibadan expressway and two others

Hours after the federal government of Nigeria and the government of the United States of America entered into an asset recovery agreement to repatriate over US$308 million looted by the late former dictator, Sani Abacha, the presidency has revealed how the funds would be spent.

Legit.ng reports that in a tweet on his Twitter page on Tuesday, February 4, a personal assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on new media, Bashir Ahmad, said that laundered funds under the trilateral agreement would help finance the construction of the Second Niger Bridge, the Lagos-Ibadan expressway and the Abuja-Kano Expressway.

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He said the proposed investments would benefit the citizens of the regions where he roads constructions would be done.

"The laundered funds under this trilateral agreement will help finance the construction of the Second Niger Bridge, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and the Abuja-Kano expressway – investments that will benefit the citizens of each of these important regions in Nigeria," he said.

President reveals how it will spend $308m Abacha's loot — The late former head of state, Sani Abacha
Source: Getty Images

It would be recalled that the funds were laundered through the US banking system and then held in bank accounts in Jersey in the name of Doraville Properties Corporation, a BVI company, and in the name of the son of the former head of state of Nigeria, General Sani Abacha.

A release by the US consulate in Nigeria indicated that in 2014 a US federal court in Washington DC forfeited the money as property involved in the illicit laundering of the proceeds of corruption arising in Nigeria during the period from 1993 to 1998 when General Abacha was head of state.

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According to the report, in 2018, the Nigerian governments, United States of America and the Bailiwick of Jersey commenced the negotiation of the procedures for the repatriation, transfer, disposition, and management of the assets.

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“This Agreement represents the culmination of two decades of intensive work by Law Officers in Jersey, the United States, and Nigeria. The return of the assets to Nigeria had been delayed by a number of hard-fought challenges by third parties which were defeated in the Courts in Jersey and the United States," the statement read.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that Abubakar Malami, the minister of justice and Attorney-General of Nigeria (AGF) on Sunday, February 2, left the country for Washington DC with respect to a proposed tripartite deal with the Island of New Jersey and the United States (US).