The Nation Newspaper

Tag: loot

  • Abacha’s and all other loot

    Abacha’s and all other loot

    •Time has come to achieve closure for this perfidy and to say, ‘never again’

    The odium of numerous graft stories in Nigeria and their concomitant damage to the image of the country and her people ought to be enough to trigger a groundswell of ethical revolution in any country. But therein lies the grand irony of the situation – business seems to continue as usual.

    In the last three decades, Nigeria has won top spots among the comity of nations with a reputation for a roguish ruling class. The annual reports of the global watchdog group, Transparency International (TI) over this period has had Nigeria stuck at the sordid end of the list of most corrupt nations – sometimes leading the pack.

    Illicit money will always leave a trail and reports of funds looted from Nigeria and stashed in almost all corners of the world lend credence to TI’s consistent putdown. Public funds stolen by politically exposed Nigerians have been traced to bank vaults in the United States, Europe, Middle East and Asia, among other places.

    President Muhammadu Buhari had embarked on what could be described as ‘Loot Recovery Diplomacy” in the early days of his administration. He had visited the United States of America, attended the G – 7 meeting in Germany and signed MoUs with the leaders of United Arab Emirates (UAE) and even the government of China concerning identifying and repatriating of funds stolen from Nigeria and stashed in banks in these countries.

    Speaking on the issue after President Buhari’s visit to President Barack Obama last year, Mr. Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity had said: “The search (for Nigeria’s stolen funds) will not only cover UK, US, Switzerland, Germany and other known havens of Nigeria’s looted funds but will cover everywhere under the sun.”

    Indeed, these odious monies have been traced to such other places like Luxembourg, France, Liechtenstein, British Virgin Islands, Dubai and UAE, among others.

    But not much progress has been made in actually repatriating these monies despite assurances from the US, UK, Germany and UAE. Two instances will suffice here. First, the Department for Foreign International Development (DFID) is reported to have alerted the Buhari administration in the early days about the sum of N1.3 trillion which was stolen during the last administration which had been traced to a place it could be easily returned. But it is not certain that the British government has released this money almost two years after.

    Another example is that in March 2014, the US had reportedly ordered the freezing of the sum of $458 million in assets, stolen by the late military head of state, General Sani Abacha. According to report, the US Justice Department (USJD) had given such specifics as bank accounts where the monies were lodged. There is Bailiwick of Jersey and two other accounts in France as depositories of $313m and $145m of Abacha loot, respectively.

    Some of the other financial institutions named by the USJD in the Abacha family carnage against Nigeria are: Citibank, Chase Manhattan Bank, JPMorgan Chase, New York arms of Britain’s Barclays Bank and Germany’s Commerz Bank.

    But disturbingly, hardly any of these monies has been repatriated. In fact, the $400 million Abacha loot ready for release by the Swiss government remains a subject of controversy. Though all the conditions – including World Bank’s monitoring of infrastructure projects – have been met yet another small dispute about a chunky $79m commission crops up.

    Notwithstanding that, a whooping N289 bn of the expected recoveries is already built into the 2017 budget estimates.

    We urge the Federal Government to give the looted funds issue the required seriousness it demands. A small committee may be needed to lead the drive. We need to know every looted fund anywhere, both home and abroad. And the committee, apart from being open about it all, must work for a quick closure of this sordid affair.

    Most important, the committee will make recommendations about policies to be put in place to ensure that the country’s patrimony is not easily available for looting and shipment abroad.

  • Nigeria’s inaction delays recovery of $85million ex-minister’s loot

    Nigeria’s inaction delays recovery of $85million ex-minister’s loot

    The United Kingdom is waiting for Nigeria to claim an $85million loot recovered from a former petroleum minister, Dan Etete, according to the Evening Standard of London.

    The newspaper reported that federal government’s failure to send a proceeds-of-crime submission to the judge of a UK court is stalling the recovery of the money which is frozen in a NatWest bank account in London.

    Federal government officials could not be reached last night for their reaction.

    The situation has left the funds ‘frozen’ and the court case ‘languishing’, the newspaper said.

    The $85m is believed to be part of the proceeds from the award of the licence of OPL245 – an oilfield containing an estimated nine billion barrels of crude – made  by Etete to Malabu Oil & Gas,  for $20 million, said to be  a tiny fraction of its real value.

    The licence award sparked a multitude of legal suits between Shell and Malabu over the ownership of the field only for the federal government to sell the field to Eni and Shell.

    $1.09 billion of the money paid by the two companies later found its way to Malabu.

    Shell and Eni claimed ignorance of who paid the $1.09billion to Malabu.

    The newspaper said investigators at Britain’s National Crime Agency who are trying to probe the alleged laundering of OPL245 money through London banks and properties are frustrated by alleged inaction from Nigeria’s end.

    “Last week, the two governments agreed criminal assets stolen in Nigeria and seized in Britain can be returned to the West African country, but such breakthroughs are rare,” it said.

    “Buhari’s governing style is also a source of frustration. Critics say he is slow in his decision-making, which allows the EFCC to wallow in indecision.

    “Buhari’s critics say his approach means that much-needed funds from corruption cases are not bringing in revenue for an ailing economy ravaged by low oil prices, and the oil blocks themselves are not being developed.”

    The Malabu Oil deal is believed to have  led to the siphoning off of $1 billion from a $1.3 billion international investment in the lucrative oil block through ‘fees’ to Etete’s company and middlemen.

    High Court Judge Mr. Justice Edis said: “Given the large sums of money involved that are effectively paid to a former minister to a bank account in the Middle East, the whole exercise is backed by murky instructions.”

    The Malabu Oil deal is believed to have  led to the siphoning off of $1 billion from a $1.3 billion international investment in the lucrative oil block through ‘fees’ to Etete’s company and middlemen.

    Justice Edis said: “Given the large sums of money involved that are effectively paid to a former minister to a bank account in the Middle East, the whole exercise is backed by murky instructions.”

  • Loot, recovery, and re-use

    Loot, recovery, and re-use

    For example, it is still not clear how much of what was recovered from the Abacha loot had been used wisely or how much had been sucked up by new looters of old loot

    With so much to hear in the news about how much cash and other assets have been recovered from Nigeria’s thieves of state, it cannot but be tempting to join the debate from the perspective of development journalism on how to use whatever is taken back from looters.

    It is too soon to guess how much money would come to the country’s common purse, particularly since the federal government is not certain about how much exactly has been recovered so far. But it is not premature to start thinking about how best to use whatever is recovered while counting what comes in from week to week. For example, only a few days ago, the Minister of Transportation claimed in London that the government had recovered N3.4 trillion in cash and assets so far while his Information and Culture counterpart reported that only N78 billion and $3 million dollars had been recovered outside non-cash assets but that $9 billion has been blocked while pursuing final release of such funds in court. The Minister of Information added that what has been retrieved from looters so far cannot affect the country’s development in any noticeable way, as what is in so far is not enough to pay 50% of the federal government’s monthly wage bill of N165 billion, not to talk of the debt of N2 trillion owed to contractors presumably from past governments.

    Given the religious attachment of President Buhari to fighting corruption to death before corruption itself kills the country, it is expected that more funds will roll in as the fight against corruption heats up. In addition, given the fact that for decades Nigeria was a poster child for political and bureaucratic corruption, Nigerians and their international friends must be confident that more money and assets will be sighted and liberated from the clutches of roguish political and bureaucratic leaders. More patient observers are likely to invoke the Yoruba proverbial: Emi niimomaajeori, iwoni o maajeiru, kogbodosiwajueran pipa (I will eat the head and you will take the tail of the game must not come before the game is caught). But past experience with loot recovery in the country suggests otherwise. For example, it is still not clear how much of what was recovered from the Abacha loot had been used wisely or how much had been sucked up by new looters of old loot.

    Therefore, the recent pact signed in Abuja between the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General and the British Minister of State for Immigration on conditions for Britain to release the loot in Britain is in order. On the British side, the United Kingdom would release loot in its custody only if the Nigerian government pledged to spend the money judiciously. On the Nigerian side, the Justice Minister was remarkably forthcoming in his response: “Today, we are determined to change the narrative, regardless of who is involved. I want to assure the international community that all funds recovered within and outside Nigeria would be judiciously utilised for projects that will benefit the poorest segment of the Nigerian society as well as enable us support reform in the justice sector.…The position of the law in Nigeria today is that all funds recovered should be paid directly into the Consolidated Revenue Account. Unfortunately, that has not always been the case under the previous administration.”

    The focus of today’s column is on the first part of the two areas the Justice Minister prefers to apply money stolen from all Nigerians by past leaders. It is not too soon to cry out loud and clear that using recovered loot to pay for judicial reform is not a wise way to spend the trillions that citizens expect will come back to the public treasury at the end of the protracted fight against corruption. More importantly, spending such money on reforming the judiciary is not as citizen-oriented as the minister’s first choice of line of expenditure: “projects that will benefit the poorest segment of the Nigerian society.” The need for judicial reform is an urgent one that ought not be made to wait for recovery of loot. If anything, waiting for loot before reforming a judicial system that is perceived by many citizens as too compromised is more likely to frustrate the executive’s current spirited effort to recover stolen funds.

    The Justice Minister’s suggestion on spending recovered funds on “projects that will benefit the poorest of Nigerians” ought to be encouraged. And such projects should be ones that are concrete and tangible and whose impact are measurable and verifiable.  Such projects are not hard to identify. One way to use funds accruing from loot recovery is to energize the electricity sector. One way to do this is for the federal government to engage in a public private partnership with producers of megawatts of electricity, to save citizens from what has almost become a jinx: fluctuation between 2,500 megawatts in the dry season and 4,000 megawatts in the rainy season. Even in the last few weeks that electricity supply has improved in the country, it has been mostly in areas with pre-paid meters. This improvement is perfunctory as it affects just about 1% of the population with pre-paid meters, even three years after privatisation of the energy sector.

    Another way to spend the windfall from loot is to put more funds into overhauling the antiquated transmission system, which has been seeing some positive changes from intervention from the new government, according to reliable media experts close to the government. To this this better, a PPP that engages in building new capacity for transmission will benefit the poor and the middle-class alike. A related way to use recovered stolen funds transparently and cost-effectively is to invest it in a PPP project with reputable solar panel builders who are willing to establish their factories in Nigeria. This will make solar panels less expensive and will put the country in a good stead to increase its energy mix and set the country up for benefit from renewable energy technology. It will also increase non-grid or off-grid energy provision and consumption.

    In addition, revenue from anti-corruption fight can also be invested in provision of water in major cities in the six geo-political zones. For too long, poor people who cannot afford to construct boreholes have been living without potable water. In most cases such people have been drinking unsafe water at the risk of the health of their young ones in particular. If potable water supply to citizens has to be in the form of a PPP, it will achieve two things: stop the current method of selling untreated water to citizens in the country’s large cities and stop the proliferation of boreholes with dangerous seismic consequences that country’s visionless leaders in the past had ignored.

    Finally, while keeping recovered cash in interest-yielding accounts, all non-cash assets ought to be sold immediately to prevent depreciation and to avoid having them re-looted by future governments that may not have the vision of President Buhari about nurturing a corruption-free polity. With the ferocious way corruption has been fighting back with the hope of convincing victims of past brigandage that the current economic hardships are caused by a government saddled with cleaning the mess it inherited, it is not inconceivable that a new government can come back to the country in the future, to return to the era of impunity, to the extent of finding reasons to give unsold physical property recovered from looters back to their looters, all in the name of a new politics of reconciliation.

  • Let go the loot, please

    •To withhold looted funds is another form of looting

    More than 20 years after the demise of Nigeria’s maximum ruler and indeed maximum kleptocrat, General Sani Abacha, his odious deeds have not stopped oozing. Recorded to have stolen more than $5 billion during his reign, repatriation of some of the loot salted away in secret vaults across developed world has proved quite arduous.

    The latest instalment in the long-drawn drama of what is now globally known as ‘Abacha loot’ is $321 million currently held in Switzerland. The fund was originally stashed in Luxembourg from where it was frozen and repatriated to Switzerland. But the Swiss authorities said recently that there is no hope that the fund would be handed in anytime soon.

    According to the Deputy Head of Mission, Swiss Embassy in Nigeria, Daniel Cavegn, the World Bank has placed certain conditions to be met by the Nigerian government before the fund is repatriated. The terms include an assurance that there would be transparency and accountability in its disbursal.

    The Nigerian government is also required to submit a detailed list of projects to be executed with the funds as well as subject herself to strict monitoring of the use of the fund by the World Bank.  “The Swiss forfeiture order provides for a return of $321 million to Nigeria and foresees a monitoring of the use of the funds by the World Bank.

    “From the Swiss side, we are committed to begin restitution of the money to Nigeria as soon as possible; we will proceed to a bilateral agreement for the restitution which is the legal basis for the transfer of the money,” Cavegn told a national newspaper last weekend.

    Going by the envoy’s comments, it would appear that the Federal Government may well be delaying the transaction as a letter of intent was signed between the Minister of Justice and the Swiss foreign minister in Abuja about six months ago. Since then, Nigeria has not been able to furnish the World Bank with details of proposed projects as well as give assurances on the monitoring protocol.

    While we urge the Federal Government to do all that is necessary and promptly too, to retrieve the cash and all other looted funds wherever they may be, we condemn the hypocrisy of the Western world over the wanton pillage and despoliation of the economy of developing countries. Yes, it is true, the age-old African proverb which suggests that if there was no crack in the wall, the lizard would never find its way into it.

    If African leaders are not engrossed in the folly of looting and shipping their country’s meagre resources abroad, their countries would never suffer the indignities of being presented with conditionalities before proven and ascertained loot are repatriated.

    Though Nigeria’s leaders have erred in the purloin of their country’s common wealth, it is also obtuse, to say the least, that the country that warehoused stolen funds for decades and made huge profit and capital by it would turn round and act sanctimoniously. As has been suggested, stolen monies from politically exposed people still find their ways to the Western World even now.

    The World Bank is expected to have initiated iron-tight measures that make it nigh impossible for monies from poor countries to end up in the developed world. And if such funds end up in the vaults of the West, efforts should be made to return such monies within no more than 90 days. It is equally criminal and unconscionable of the developed world to make profit from funds stolen from wretched and blighted parts of the world where citizens are dying from malnutrition and common diseases.

    Though it is claimed that the Swiss government had previously repatriated more than $700 million of Abacha loot to Nigeria, and which was apparently mismanaged by previous governments, it must be stated that the current government urgently needs an injection of foreign exchange to help reflate the country’s withering economy and alleviate the sufferings of the people.

    We therefore demand that this fund in Switzerland and all others criminally held in Britain, USA and other European countries should be released pronto. There must be something criminal in withholding a stolen property, isn’t there?

  • $321m Abacha loot: Govt sends plans to Switzerland

    $321m Abacha loot: Govt sends plans to Switzerland

    •$480m stalled in U.S., says AGF 

    In line with Switzerland’s request, the Federal Government has submitted five proposals on how it will spend the $132million Abacha loot if returned.

    Switzerland had asked for how the cash would be spent before releasing it.

    The proposals are based on social benefit projects to alleviate the suffering of Nigerians.

    The government is, however, weighing options on another condition bordering on the payment of monitoring fees to the World Bank on five projects.

    To cut cost, the government is thinking of reducing the projects to two for the World Bank to monitor.

    If the $321million loot is released, the amount to be repatriated to Nigeria by the Swiss authorities will amount to $1.044billion in 11 years.

    Switzerland has released $723million to the country in the last 10 years.

    But, a matter before a court by a Nigerian lawyer based in the United States (U.S.) has stalled the return of $480 million by the American government.

    But both the U.S. and the Federal Government are collaborating to overcome the legal hurdles at the appeal court.

    Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Mallam Abubakar Malami (SAN)  told our correspondent that the government was trying to meet the terms of Switzerland.

    Malami said: “We got a request from Switzerland that we should provide a list of projects that we will spend the $321million on.

    “The government has done its homework and submitted five proposals that have bearing with social benefit projects.

    “Some of the projects have been captured in this year’s budget. They will impact on all Nigerians.

    “They wrote back to us on the fact that they will want the World Bank to be directly involved in the monitoring of the projects with a caveat that we have to pay monitoring fees.

    “We have not come to terms with paying monitoring fees for all the projects. We have not taken any decision to pay the bills for all the projects or to restrict the payment to two of the projects,

    “We are already collaborating with World Bank on three projects which will accelerate the nation’s development.”

    Last March, Nigeria and Switzerland signed an agreement on the return of the $321million.

    The pact, titled: “Letter of Intent on the restitution of illegally-acquired assets forfeited in Switzerland,” was signed by Malami, and the Swiss Head of Foreign Affairs Department, Didier Burkhalter. The document revealed that $321 million acquired illicitly by the Abacha family, was initially deposited in Luxemburg before being confiscated by the Swiss Republic Judiciary and Canton of Geneva following a December 11, 2014 forfeiture order.

    On the $480 million Abacha loot in the U.S., Malami said it was yet to be repatriated because a Nigerian lawyer in America was impeding its return.

    The minister said: “For the US, the only impediment is a Nigerian lawyer who has been constituting a threat to the repatriation of the funds.

    “He has filed many court processes in the past few years demanding 40 per cent of the amount involved. He relied on a purported court injunction granted him in the last 14 years. Over the period of 10 years, the matter had gone through processes.

    “At a point, he did not even have licence to operate in the US. His filings have been of concern to the US and the Federal Government.

    “We are looking at the possibility of concluding the process at a Court of Appeal in the US.”

  • NLC praises govt on recovered loot

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has praised the government for giving a transparent account of recovered funds.

    Its President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, in a press statement, said the quantum of recoveries vindicated labour’s support for the fight against corruption, and its insistence on more stringent punishment for offenders.

    It has also exposed the extent of rot in the system and why virtually everything in the polity failed to work.

    ‘’We recall that in our national rally against corruption, we had made the point that we must look at the bigger picture of national recovery by ensuring that recovered funds are deployed to critical infrastructure such as roads, power, key industries and other sectors capable of stimulating the economy,” Wabba said.

    “NLC finds it necessary to, once again, urge the government to deploy recovered funds to key infrastructure or sectors.

    He urged the government not to relent in its recovery drive and fight against corruption, as information has revealed that the recovered funds are just the tip of the iceberg.

    ‘’We at the NLC believe the importance of the fight against corruption cannot be overstated for a couple of reasons. Certainly, we as a people cannot continue to live like this, except we want to be the laughing stock of the rest of the world.

    ‘’Similarly, our teeming youth and the army of the unemployed who look on to their country for their means of livelihood will not fold their hands while a few privileged individuals corner the national resources.

    ‘’We believe that for the war against corruption to endure, we as a people must be firm and resolute in our support for good governance and fight against corruption’’, Wabba said.

    He stated that the nation must entrench the culture of accountability, ensuring that public officers are accountable even out of office.

    He said to further strengthen the anti-corruption agencies, labour calls for the establishment of special courts to try corruption cases, adding that the judiciary has a big role to play by ensuring timely and speedy disposal of corruption cases. 

  • N115b loot: ex-Air chiefs, politicians top refund list

    N115b loot: ex-Air chiefs, politicians top refund list

    INEC officials, others also surrendered cash 

    EFCC probes ex-Akwa Ibom governor

    Barely 24 hours after the confirmation of the recovery of about N115billion, The Nation yesterday glimpsed a likely list of some of those behind the huge refund.

    They include some politically exposed persons, ex-military chiefs and some of those involved in the $115million poll bribery scandal.

    Besides, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is said to be tracking about $3.9billion believed to have been stolen.

    A Presidency source however said the government was not yet aware of the said $3.9billion.

    The recovered cash includes the following: $3.1b  from Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) accounts (the money was paid to the oil giant by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited); $1m seized from a former Chief of Air Staff;  National Broadcasting Commission (N10,061,172,600); another Chief of Air Staff(N2.3b); an ex-presidential aide (N900m); a businessman (N750m); an ex-governor of Delta State ($15m); an ex-Chief of Staff and others (N420m); and an ex-Minister (N140m); an ex-Military Administrator  (N100m).

    Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials in Oyo and Ogun (N359millon); a former Minister (N2m); a former state Speaker N1m and N580 million (£2 million) in jewelry, allegedly from a former minister.

    An EFCC source said: “We cannot release the names of those affected because some of them are already on trial before the court. We do not want to take any prejudicial action. We have been advised against doing so.

    “As soon as it is legally convenient, we will release the full list.”

    Also yesterday, It was learnt that the EFCC was probing a former governor of Akwa Ibom State in connection with N450million which was allocated to the state out of the N23.29billion allegedly provided by former Minister of Petroleum Resources Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke. The cash is believed to have been for INEC officials as bribe to change the results of the 2015 presidential election.

    The anti-graft agency had questioned a former Military Administrator of the state and others in connection with the bribe.

    But during one of the interrogation sessions, one of the suspects said the ex-governor allegedly “deducted N150million out of the bribe sum for personal use”.

    “We are likely to invite the ex-governor for interaction,” the EFCC source added.

    But there were indications  yesterday that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was tracking about $3.9billion.

    The said amount was allegedly not yet captured in the fact-sheet which was released to the public on Saturday by the Federal Government due to an outstanding reconciliation process.

    The $3.9billion includes the $15million seized from former Delta State Governor James Ibori, who is serving term in the United Kingdom.

    Other components are about $3.1billion intercepted in the accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG), which was yet to be moved to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in line with the Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy.

    A reliable source in the anti-graft commission, who spoke in confidence with our correspondent, said the list of recoveries issued out on Saturday might not be the final.

    The source said: “The EFCC has also intercepted over $3.9billion, including those in the NNPC and NLNG accounts and put in the TSA account.

    “This has not been captured yet. So, what we have on Saturday was certainly not the final list of recoveries.”

    “Following a judgment of the Court of Appeal, a $15million recovered from ex-Governor James Ibori has been paid into the treasury too.

    “We will soon make the breakdown available to Nigerians accordingly. This process is a continuous one .”

    A top Presidency source said: “The affected $3.9billion is unknown to this government. The list of recoveries released to Nigerians on Saturday by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alh. Lai Mohammed, went through vetting and other checks before the announcement.

    “Do you know the value of $3.2billion? If there is such money in the system, do you think we will go to AFDB for a loan of $1billion?

    “I only hope you will get the figures right from whoever is giving the information. Some people have sent an online link to the government but the source only quoted a member of the House of Representatives.”

  • $1b recovered loot to be kept in banks

    $1b recovered loot to be kept in banks

    The Panic Alert Security System, (PASS) engaged by the Attorney General of the Federation to help government recover monies looted from the country has opened four accounts for the recovery of government funds in various funds known as PASS/Asset Recovery Accounts.

    The accounts are in Naira, United States Dollars, British Pounds and Euros to warehouse recovered funds traced during the pendency of PASS engagement by the Attorney General of the Federation and Federal Government of Nigeria.

    PASS CEO, George Uboh yesterday said these government funds which were warehoused in some banks are N75.7 billion, 3.5 million pounds and $648.5 million aggregating to over one billion dollars.

    Uboh said he has written President Muhammadu Buhari and the Attorney General of the Federal, Abubakar Malami of his decision to recover and warehouse traced funds with some Nigerian banks.

    He said the decision to open new accounts followed the AGF’s answer to President Buhari’s  query that the underlying letter of engagement empowered PASS to trace, recover and remit to the government.

  • ‘Use recovered loot to create jobs’

    ‘Use recovered loot to create jobs’

    How should the money recovered from those who stole from the treasury be spent? It should be used on creating jobs, says a unionist, Comrade Kiri Mohammed.

    Mohammed, Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU) president, said by so doing President Muhammadu Buhari would be addressing what he called the “unemployment crisis”.

    Speaking with The Nation, Mohammed expressed concern over slump in the oil price, which has made payment of salaries difficult.

    He urged all tiers of governments not to capitalise on this, to deny workers their salaries for diversification of the economy to address the problem.

    Kiri advised politicians to reduce the number of their aides to free up resources to meet other developmental programmes.

    “The union advocated the reduction in the cost of governance at all tiers of government due to the dwindling resources. The union regretted to observe that hundreds of billions of naira are filtered away by the public office holders, most especially in the guise of security vote.

    “In the same vein, the union expresses indignation in the way and manner public office holders and other individuals corruptly managed the resources of the country by diverting hard earned revenue through over bloated contract sums, unlimited appointment of political aides in the name of political gratification,” he said.

    In a related event, Trade Union Congress (TUC) President, Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama, has called on the Federal Government to set up a tripartite committee to look into the minimum wage and review it.

    He made the call in Ilorin while opening a two-day yearly industrial relations workshop open. “We are looking forward to a tripartite committee to be set-up by the Federal Government to review the salary. We are hoping for a tripartite committee comprising government’s agencies and representatives of the organised labour (TUC and NLC) to deliberate, prepare a bill and send it to the National Assembly for amendment of the National Minimum Wage,” Kaigama said.

    Speaking on the passage of the 2016 budget, the TUC president said Nigerians should begin to see some changes in the country once President Buhari signed it into law.

    “We are waiting for the execution of the change mantra budget, which has just been passed by the National Assembly.

    “In the coming months, we should begin to see certain achievements that will make Nigerians believe or otherwise the policies of the current administration. We hope that they will not forget and be carried away by the euphoria of victory as four years is just like four days,” Kaigama said.

  • U.S. agrees to give Nigeria $480m Abacha family loot

    U.S. agrees to give Nigeria $480m Abacha family loot

    AGF, EFCC chair seal deal with Justice Dept

    Anti-graft agency seeks records of recovered £22.5m

    United States has agreed to repatriate to Nigeria about $480million believed to have been stolen by the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha and his family.

    But the conditions for the repatriation of the cash  and other details are being worked out, The Nation has learnt.

    Also, it was learnt that the Department of Justice in the United States now has a Kleptocracy Unit, which will assist to track looted funds and money laundered by public officials from Nigeria and other nations.

    The planned repatriation is the outcome of the recent meeting between the Department of Justice and the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN) and the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission( EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu.

    A source, who spoke in confidence with our correspondent, said: “This is the largest loot ever traced to a former Nigerian public officer in the U.S.

    “The DOJ, the AGF and the EFCC have concluded all the talks; we are in the process of repatriation of the $480million.

    “Although there are interventions from private lawyers, the DOJ prefers a government-to-government deal.

    “ I can tell you that the funds will soon be repatriated. If there is anything left, it has to do with the conditions which the US will attach to the utilisation of the funds.

    “The US is likely to advise on specific areas to spend the funds on and the project monitoring mechanisms. It does not want the cash re-looted.”

    In the source’s view, there is no hiding place for Nigerian treasury looters in the United States anymore.

    “The Federal Government and the U.S.  on January 14, 2003  signed the Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters between the two nations. So, no corrupt public officers from Nigeria can hide in the US.

    “At the session with AGF and the EFCC boss, they told the Nigerian team that the DOJ now has Kleptocracy Unit which is closing tabs on Political Office Holders and other public officers in this country and many other nations.”

    The Department of Justice of the United States had in the last few years initiated forfeiture proceedings against the Abachas.

    The proceedings made it possible for the Abacha family and its associates to forfeit over $550million and £95,910 in 10 accounts and six investment portfolios linked to them in France, Britain, British Virgin Islands and the United States.

    The Criminal Division of the Office of International Affairs of the US Department of Justice, in a letter to the Federal Government, identified the accounts where Abacha loot was hidden.

    The highlights are as follows: Doraville Properties Corporation – $287 million in Account Number 80020796 located at Deutsche Bank International Limited in the Bailiwick of Jersey; HSBC Fund Administration (Jersey) – $12 million in account number S-104460 in the Bailiwick of Jersey; and Rayville International, S. A – $1 million in account number 223405880IUSD at Banque SBA in Paris, France.

    Others are  Standard Alliance Financial Services Limited – $144 million in account 223406510PUSD at Banque SBA in Paris; Mecosta Securities – $21.7 million in accounts 10030688 and 100138409 at Standard Bank in the United Kingdom;  and HSBC Bank Plc – $1.6 million in account number 38175076.

    Also listed are  Blue Holding (1) Pte Ltd/ Ridley Group Limited – £6,806,900; Blue Holding  (2) Pte. Ltd/ Ridley Group Limited – £21,846,983; Blue Holding (1) Pte. Ltd/ Ridley Group Limited – £10,293,343.58; Blue Holding (2) Pte. Ltd/Ridley Group Limited – £56,962,996.26

    It was learnt that  the Abacha family had pledged to cooperate with the Federal Government.

    But the EFCC is still probing the whereabouts of £22.5m (N6.18billion) loot which the late Gen. Abacha allegedly stashed away on the Island of Jersey.

    No fewer than three prominent Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) have been quizzed by the EFCC on the whereabouts of the records of the recovered £22.5m (N6.18billion).

    According to records, the late Head of State allegedly stashed the funds through a Lebanese called Bhojwani.

    But when the Office of the AGF was alerted by a whistle-blower, the administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan opened discussions with the Attorney-General of the Island of Jersey.

    “The AG of the Island of Jersey cooperated fully with the government, leading to the repatriation of the £22.5m. EFCC is still searching for the records from those involved.

    A top EFCC source said last night: “We have not closed investigation into the whereabouts of this money.”