THE French government is set to repatriate another $150 million from the looted funds linked to the former Nigerian military President, Sani Abacha, back to Nigeria.
This was as disclosed in a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, on Friday, November 3.
President Bola Tinubu while receiving the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, Catherine Colonna, acknowledged the strengthening of bilateral relations between Nigeria and France.
“Thank you for the good news on the return of Abacha loot. We appreciate your effective cooperation concerning the return of Nigeria’s money. It will be judiciously applied in attaining our development objectives,” Tinubu was quoted as saying.
Highlighting the importance of strengthening collaboration in political and economic aspects, the President expressed appreciation for the increasing cooperation between the two nations in areas of common concern, including climate change, economic integration, education, and culture.
Tinubu also recognized the recent signing of a €100 million agreement between Nigeria and France to bolster the i-DICE program- a Federal Government initiative aimed at boosting investment in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Creative Arts Industries.
The agreement, according to the statement, was signed by the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Technology, ‘Bosun Tijani, and the French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs at an earlier event at Tafawa Balewa House, the headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Tinubu stated that Nigeria will continue rallying international partners to actively seek a peaceful resolution to the situation in Niger Republic.
In her remarks, the French minister conveyed the goodwill of President Emmanuel Macron and expressed France’s readiness to expand mutually beneficial collaboration with Nigeria across multiple sectors.
Colonna said the repatriation of the stolen funds followed the completion of legal processes, saying “it was a long process, but we are glad that it was concluded”.
“It was a long process, but we are glad that it was concluded. Sometimes, justice may be slow, but this is a very good achievement,” she added.
Money allegedly stolen from the national treasury by the late Abacha, now known as the ‘Abacha Loot’, have been repatriated from most countries in Europe and the Americas since his death in 1998.
So far, trillions of Naira of the Abacha loot have been repatriated, with many more believed to still be in the vaults of Western and Asian banks.
The ICIR, over the years, has reported how the federal government has recovered multibillion naira from Abach loot, among which was a of how about $723 million in Abacha loot was returned to Nigeria from Switzerland.
The ICIR has reported over the years on the recovery of multibillion naira from Abacha’s loot, including the return of about $723 million in Abacha loot from Switzerland to Nigeria.
However, a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on July 3, ordered the Nigerian government to disclose how the $5 billion Abacha loot was spent.
The court directed the administration of President Bola Tinubu to “disclose the exact amount of money stolen by General Sani Abacha from Nigeria, and the total amount of Abacha loot recovered and all agreements signed on same by the governments of former presidents Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, Jonathan and Buhari”.
Omotosho ordered that the Federal Government through the Ministry of Finance should provide SERAP with the full spending details of about $5 billion Abacha loot within seven days of the judgment. The government was also ordered to disclose details of the projects executed with the money recovered.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M