Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

News

Abacha Loot Belongs To Nigerians – UK, US, Again Warn Buhari Against Giving Atiku Bagudu $100m

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has been warned that he should not give Abacha loot to Atiku Bagudu.

The United Kingdom government has issued another warning to President Muhammadu Buhari government’s to do away with any plan to give more than $100million to Kebbi Governor, Atiku Bagudu.

The money is part of funds stolen by the late Head of State, Sani Abacha.

The U.S. and Nigeria, in early February, agreed on the repatriation of over $308million to Africa’s most populous nation.

A few days later, the world power accused the Nigerian government of a secret plot to give Atiku Bagudu a per cent of the money.

On Monday, Bloomberg reported that the U.K National Crime Agency has insisted that the Abacha loot belongs to the people and “is opposing the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s application”.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

The motion was filed by Atiku Bagudu’s brother, Ibrahim, “to the District Court for the District of Columbia in the U.S. capital on March 30”.

The U.S. had in a statement on February 3, said the Kebbi Governor was part of Abacha network that “embezzled, misappropriated and extorted billions from the government of Nigeria.”

The Department of Justice (DoJ) further said the Buhari administration is preventing ongoing forfeiture efforts against Atiku Bagudu.

The 2003 settlement approved by a U.K. court allowed the governor to return $163 million to Nigeria “without admitting to wrongdoing,” according to U.S. court filings.

In return, the federal government dropped all outstanding civil and criminal claims against him, District Judge John D. Bates noted in a December 23, 2019 memorandum opinion.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

“This case illustrates how complex and contentious repatriating stolen assets to Nigeria can be,” Matthew Page, an associate fellow at Chatham House.

“Nigeria’s lawyers appear to be supporting the interests of one of the country’s most powerful families”, the intelligence expert added.

Successive governments have so far repatriated more than $2billion stashed abroad by Abacha.

Transparency International estimated that the late dictator stole around $5billion during his five-year rule.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like

News

President Muhammadu Buhari and Femi Gbajabiamila, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, have met to discuss ways to end the Academic Staff Union...

News

Sunday Adeyemi Adepoju has been appointed by President Muhammadu as the new Postmaster General/Chief Executive Officer (PMG), for the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST). Adepoju’s...

News

Twitter users have revealed that tertiary institutions in the UK are currently filled with Nigerians more than any other nationality. Twitter user @Hitee said...

News

The Ethiopian government has reportedly placed a ban on visa on arrival for Nigerians. Stakeholders said the ban which took effect on Tuesday October...

Advertisement

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.