Human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), has called on the federal government to filed suit against foreign banks keeping money looted from Nigeria.
Falana made the call at a conference on “agenda setting for citizen’s interaction with stolen assets of Abacha loot recovery and utilization as case study”, organised by Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), in Abuja, yesterday.
According to him, following the death of the then military Head of State, General Sani Abacha on June 8, 1998, his successor, General Abdulsalami Abubakar ordered a probe into the looting of the Central Bank of Nigeria from 1993-1998.
“At the end of the enquiry, it was established that the late dictator stole over $5billion from the vaults of the CBN through his National Security Adviser, Mr. Mohammed Gwazo. A substantial part of the stolen fund has since been traced to over 140 bank accounts in western countries and some remote islands in the world,” he said.
He further explained that the federal government should set up a team legal experts, international bodies and aniti-corruption agencies to go after each of the western banks that assisted few Nigerians to loot the nation’s public funds.
He noted that through a report on investigation on the looted money, the federal government recovered $635 million, £75 million, DM 30 million and N9 billion as well as several vehicles and properties in Abuja, Lagos and Kano together with 40% interests in West African Refinery in Sierra Leone. He said other assets were recovered from the family and associates of late General Abacha.
“The forfeited assets were promulgated into law and signed by General Abubakar on 26th May, 1999. I have since confirmed that all the funds and assets listed in the Schedule to the Forfeiture of Assets, Etc. (Certain Persons) Decree no 53 of 1999 had been recovered and forfeited to the Federal Government,” he noted
He urged the federal government to give account of the loot that has been recovered so far. He said: ‘‘From the foregoing, it is pertinent to note that not less than $3.5 billion had been recovered from the Abacha loot. Much more can still be recovered. But apart from demanding for full account of the Abacha loot, we must insist that the investigation of the criminal diversion of looted wealth be extended to cover other indicted public officers.’’
Also speaking, the executive secretary of the Presidential Advisory Communication Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof Sadiq isaah Raddah stated that the issue of asset recovery is still a work in progress and hopefully will be successful. He also emphasised on the transparency of the information concerning the assets being recovered to be a concern to the public.
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