$5b Abacha Loot: FG To Release Spending Details
$5b Abacha Loot: FG To Release Spending Details
A Federal High Court in Abuja has mandated that the administrations of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan, and Muhammadu Buhari provide information regarding the spending of approximately USD $5 billion that was allegedly recovered from money said to have been looted by the late head of state General Sani Abacha.
In a judgment, Justice James Omotosho also ordered the current government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to disclose the exact amount of money allegedly looted by the late Abacha from Nigeria.
The judge demanded the total amount of the Abacha loot so far recovered and all agreements signed on same by the previous governments.
The judgment, delivered on July 3, was on a suit filed by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), claiming that its application filed under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act was rejected.
Defendants in the suit were: the President, the Minister of Finance and the Attorney General of the Federation and the Minister of Justice.
Justice Omotosho said: “In the final analysis, the application by SERAP is meritorious and the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Finance, is hereby ordered to furnish SERAP with the full spending details of about $5 billion Abacha loot within seven days of this judgment.”
The judge ordered the government to “disclose details of the projects executed with the Abacha loot, locations of any such projects and the names of companies and contractors that carried or are carrying out the projects since the return of democracy in 1999 till date”.
He also ordered the government to “disclose details of specific roles played by the World Bank and other partners in the execution of any projects funded with Abacha loot under the governments of former Presidents Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, Jonathan and Buhari”.
The judge said: “The excuse by the Minister of Finance is that the ministry has searched its records and the details of the exact public funds stolen by Abacha and how the funds have been spent are not held by the ministry. The excuse has no leg to stand in view of Section 7 of the Freedom of Information Act.”
He dismissed all the objections raised by the Federal Government and upheld SERAP’s arguments.
