Where is $500 million recovered from the late Gen. Sani Abacha’s family?
This is the question the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is battling to answer.
The cash was recovered from the family of the late Head of State during ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
It was repatriated from slush accounts in foreign jurisdictions.
The foreign governments, which released the loot to the Federal
Government after hard negotiations, demanded that the cash be used for
concrete developments, including infrastructure, such as roads, water,
healthcare and education.
EFCC detectives tracking the $500million have discovered that it
was diverted. Of the $500million, about $250million was released to the
Office of National Security Adviser (ONSA) during the tenure of Col.
Sambo Dasuki without appropriation. The balance of $250million cannot be
traced yet.
The Nation learnt that detectives discovered that the $250million
was illegally withdrawn barely two months to the end of Jonathan’s
administration.
Investigators are said to be working on clues that part of the cash
was spent on “extraneous matters, including media services, opinion
polls and personal matters”.
According to a fact-sheet on the investigation, the $250million was withdrawn between March 2, 2015 and April 21, 2015.
About $36,155,000 (N13,015,800billion) of the $250million was also
withdrawn in cash “without any purpose” on March 2nd, 9th, 16th and 18th
of 2015.
Detectives have retrieved documents relating to the alleged “re-looting” of the Abacha loot.
In the fact-sheet, the ONSA in a memo of January 12, 2015, asked
the former Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of
Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to transfer $300million .
The memo said: “Please refer to our meeting on recovered funds. You
are pleased requested to remit the sum of $300m and £5.5m to the
following account being ONSA share as agreed.
Account name: CBN (NSA Foreign Operation; Account number: -100367-USD-CABANK30
Bank; Address: 28, Finsbury Circus, London. Please accept the assurances of my highest esteem.”
Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala, in a memo to Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, requested for $300m from the Abacha loot.
Only $250million was released to the ex-NSA. The January 20, 2015
memo said: “Attached, please find a request by the NSA for the transfer
of $300m and British pounds (£5.5m) of the recovered Abacha funds to
ONSA operations account.
The NSA has explained that this is to enable purchase of
ammunition, security and other intelligence equipment for the security
agencies in order to enable them confront the ongoing Boko Haram threat.
“His request is sequel to the meeting you chaired with the
committee on use of recovered funds where decision was made that
recovered Abacha funds would be split 50-50 between urgent security
needs to confront Boko Haram and development needs (including a portion
for the Future Generations window of Sovereign Wealth Fund).
“This letter is to seek your approval to borrow these funds, for now, to disburse to the NSA.
These funds form part of projected FG Independent Revenue to be appropriated.
“In light of this and for accountability, given the peculiar
nature of security and intelligence transactions, we would expect the
NSA to account to your Excellency for the utilisation of the funds.”
On January 29, 2015, the ex-President responded to the ex-Minister as follows: “CME/HMF, approved.”
To back his approval, Dr. Jonathan through his Senior Special
Assistant (Admin) Matt Aikhionbare, in a memo of January 30, 2015 said: “RE:
Request by NSA for transfer of funds. ”I am directed to forward Ref A
to you and convey to you Mr. President’s approval. Humbly submitted for
your further action, Ma’am.”
Detectives have discovered that only $250million out of the $300million requested was paid to ONSA.
In a letter of February 16, 2015, the then Director of Funds of the
Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr. M.K. Dikwa, in a
memo to the CBN Governor, conveyed the mandate to transfer the
$250million.
The memo said: “. You are hereby requested to immediately
effect fund transfer as below($250m) being amount disbursed to enable
for the purchase of ammunition, security and other intelligence
equipment for the security agencies in order to enable them fully
confront the ongoing Boko Haram threat.
“As per Mr. President’s approval on CME-HMF/FMF/2015/18 dated
20th January 2015 conveyed via State Houses letter No PRES/87/MF /-2/520
dated 30th January 2015. NSA’s letter Ref. No. NSA/362/5 dated 5th
March 2015 also refers.”
A source said: “The $250million was duly approved by
ex-President Goodluck Jonathan; the ex-NSA did not commit any
infractions. He acted in the interest of the country.
It is incorrect for EFCC to assume that the $250million was diverted because it was used to purchase vital equipment.”
A table of how the $250million was spent was obtained by a correspondent last night.
An EFCC source, who spoke in confidence, said: “We will need to
interact with the former Minister of Finance, Okonjo-Iweala, to guide
us on the contents of her letter, especially on the legality of the
withdrawal of the $250million.
“We will find out what she meant by to ‘borrow these funds’ and
these ‘funds form part of projected FG Independent Revenue to be
appropriated.’ She should assist investigators on whether or not the
ex-NSA accounted to Jonathan for the ‘utilization of the funds.’
A former Chairman of the EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, had claimed that
Abacha “took over $6 billion from Nigeria”. He also said $2 billion was
recovered when he was in charge of the anti-graft agency.
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) had
through its Executive Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, on 21 September 2015
sent an access to information request to the President, World Bank
Group, asking him to “exercise the bank’s prerogative to release documents relating to spending of recovered assets stolen by late Gen. Sani Abacha”.
SERAP asked the World Bank President to “disclose information about
the Bank’s role in the implementation of any projects funded by the
recovered assets and any other on-going repatriation initiatives on
Nigeria with which the bank is engaged.”
It said: “The request is pursuant to the World Bank’s Access to
Information Policy (The Policy), approved by the Board on June 30 2015.
SERAP notes that one of the policy’s guiding principles is to maximise
access to information.
There is also clear public interest in Nigerians knowing about the
Bank’s supervisory role and specifically its involvement in the
implementation of projects on which repatriated funds were spent.”
But Okonjo-Iweala in 2015 insisted that she had no case to answer.
She said: “Former President Jonathan set up a Committee
comprising the former Minister of Justice, former NSA and the former
Minister of Finance to determine how best to use both the returned and
expected funds for development.
“The NSA made a case for using the returned funds for urgent
security operations since, he noted, there cannot be any development
without peace and security. Based on this, a decision was taken to
deploy about $322m for the military operations, while the expected $700m
would be applied for development programmes as originally conceived.
“Following the discussions and based on the urgency of the
NSA’s memo, Dr Okonjo-Iweala requested the President to approve the
transfer of the requested amount to the NSA’s Office for the specified
purposes.
“But, as captured in the memo, she insisted on three conditions:
a. only a part, not the entire Abacha funds would be spent on
the arms; the rest would be invested in developmental projects as
originally conceived
b. the money was to be treated as borrowed funds which would be paid back as soon as possible
c. the NSA’s office was to account for the spending to the
President who was the Commander in Chief, given the fact that the
Minister of Finance is not part of the security architecture and does
not participate in the Security Council.
“The attempt to link the former Minister’s name to any misuse
of these funds for any purpose other than security as far as she
understood it is totally false and cannot stand.”
Source: The Nation