The Nigerian government signed an agreement with the United States of America (US) that will see the Washington government return Nigeria $23 million that former military dictator Sani Abacha had seized, reported The Anadolu Agency.
Abubakar Malami, the Attorney-general of the Federation and Minister of Justice, who signed the agreement on behalf of the Nigerian government, said the money was part of the looted stolen funds traced to former Military President, Sani Abacha.
Malami said President Muhammadu Buhari had said the funds will be utilized in the construction of the on-going Presidential Development Infrastructural Funds (PIDF) projects.
He noted that the fund, also referred to as the Mecosta/Sani Mohammed assets, would be used in the ongoing construction of Abuja-Kano road, the Lagos-Ibadan express way, and the second Niger bridge.
He said the Nigerian government was hopeful that other pending cases including the Bayelsa, Galactica, Blue Trust and Seaborne assets would also be resolved in the favor of the country.
In a statement, Mary Leonard, the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, said the Washington seized these funds when General Abacha and his associates violated the U.S. laws by laundering these assets through the U.S. and into accounts in the UK.
She said the US government has now ordered for the repatriation of Nigeria’s looted assets as part of its support for the fight against corruption in Nigeria.
Leonard assured of her country’s commitment to ensuring that Nigeria’s assets were utilized for the benefit of the people of the country. She said her country would continue to support efforts to return all funds looted from Nigeria. She also urged the Nigerian government to ensure that the recovered funds are utilized in the three projects as agreed by parties.
She said this current repatriation will bring the total amount of funds repatriated to Nigeria by the U.S. to more than $334.7 million.
