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Desperate, FG quietly concedes $79m to Swiss govt from $400m Abacha loot

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Abacha

The Nigerian government is said to have in a desperate move to source for funds, accepted to pay Switzerland government $79 million (N25.2bn) to repatriate about $400m (N128bn) recovered from late Gen. Sani Abacha’s family to Nigeria.

The amount is said to be one of the conditions given by the Swiss government to remove the funds back to Nigeria.

Chairman of the Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC), Mr. Olanrewaju Suraj, made this claim on Friday in Abuja during a seminar to commemorate the 2016 International Anti-Corruption Day.

Last July, the Swiss Ambassador to Nigeria, Eric Mayoraz, had during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on Mutual Legal Assistance on criminal matters, between the Swiss government and the Federal Government of Nigeria in Abuja, disclosed that his country would return $321 million to Nigeria.

He had then claimed that the move was aimed at fostering understanding between the two countries particularly as it relates to their different legal systems.

“We are now in the process of repatriating $321 million from the second batch of the Abacha loot”, he said, recalling that Nigeria in 2005 repatriated $722 million in the first batch.

However, during the event in Abuja, jointly put together by Nigerian anti-corruption agencies, the European Union, the United States and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Suraj who was a member of a panel of discussants, claimed the original figure that was meant to be returned to Nigeria was about $400 million.

Read also: Minister Udoma denies IMF loan plan by FG

According to Suraj, the Federal Government of Nigeria secretly agreed to forfeit $79 million as part of negotiations.

He described the action as being shameful, adding that the Swiss Government was supposed to pay Nigeria an interest and not demanding and dictating the terms of agreement.

“Unfortunately, the government goes to beg countries to get our money back rather than making demands, we appeal for the money and beg them to return it. We are fed with half information such that we even assume that we actually recover the amount stolen.

“I had a very funny experience and it is still ongoing. The $321 million that the Swiss Government is meant to return to Nigeria, we discovered three weeks ago that the original money was about $400 million. The legal process in Switzerland actually charged the Nigerian Government about $79 million and that is why we are receiving $321 million.

“The $321 million is now to be returned to Nigeria with the condition that the World Bank will monitor how the funds will be spent. I cannot imagine anything more insulting,” Suraj said.

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0 Comments

  1. Roland Uchendu Pele

    December 10, 2016 at 8:33 am

    Well, I do not know how most Nigerians would take this, but I feel it is a good deal, fair enough, for the swiss government to have a share of the loot. They wont help us to keep money all these years and get nothing from it.

    • Nonso Ezeugo

      December 10, 2016 at 7:10 pm

      Yes i believe they are nice people so they deserve some share of the money.

  2. yanju omotodun

    December 10, 2016 at 9:08 am

    Half bread is better than none. And this is not even half bread. It is a big huge bread for Nigeria.

    • Joy Madu

      December 10, 2016 at 9:45 am

      You are right. That money can go a long way . so let make do with what we have.

  3. Animashaun Ayodeji

    December 10, 2016 at 9:20 am

    It is more shameful Abacha stole our money and kept it in Swiss bank than the $79m to be forfeited

  4. Johnson Amadi

    December 10, 2016 at 9:23 am

    The fact still remains that Nigeria needs money and we have greater percentage of the $400m, why complain?

  5. Margret Dickson

    December 10, 2016 at 9:25 am

    Anyone who is angry at Buhari’s move towards recovering the money from Swiss and how much Swiss is ready to release should simply add the rest to complete the $400m

  6. JOHNSON PETER

    December 10, 2016 at 9:27 am

    Swiss government tried enough. If it were to Britain or USA, they will share it 50-50 with us.

    • Balarabe musa

      December 10, 2016 at 9:53 am

      Uptil now , Britain has refused to give us all our looted funds in their coffers . and yet their Prime minister termed us the most corrupt country in the world but they have forgotten that both country abetting the money is also corrupt

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