Nigerian Newspapers
Nigeria may lose N3.2tr Abacha loot
•US, UK, Switzerland, others set hurdles •FG reconsiders spending more millions on probe
By ADE ALADE
Nigeria may lose a princely N3.2 trillion, recently discovered as part of billions of dollars stashed away in foreign bank accounts by late military dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha. This fear is instructed by the intricate, complex hurdles set before the Federal Government team tracing the hidden funds by the countries involved.
A Special Investigation Panel (SIP) headed by a retired military officer in the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) had, about 10 months ago, launched a fresh probe into what has now become ‘Abacha loot’.
Saturday Sun had, in April this year, exclusively reported that the panel had uncovered fresh hidden funds in excess of $ 210 billion trapped in offshore accounts, which far exceeded the already established $ 5 billion looted by the late military ruler.
The report was confirmed last week at a ministerial briefing by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke who said the Federal Government recently confiscated the sum of £175 million from the Abacha family and associated companies in Liechtenstein, following a confiscation order by the Supreme Court of Liechtenstein just as another sum of £22.5 million was seized through the Royal Court of Jersey from Raj Arjandes Bhojwani, an Indian national and associate of the late head of state.
Meetings between the SIP team and a Switzerland -based lawyer, Enrico Monfrini hired by the Federal Government to assist in the recovery of the Abacha loot in foreign jurisdictions, had led to the latest discovery.
Monfrini is an Attorney-at-Law, Monfrini Grettol & Associés, Geneva, Switzerland. A source in the presidency, who is familiar with the progress of work already done by the SIP, however, told Saturday Sun that, “in truth, the looted funds have been successfully traced and identified, but the problem the panel is grappling with now is repatriating the money.
The jurisdictions where these monies are domiciled have set impossible hurdles for repatriation, especially the issue of obtaining a court order in the respective foreign countries.
Everyone knows that litigation in several countries may take decades because of many factors and aside, that can be a very expensive venture to undertake.”
The presidential source added that, “that is why we have our fears that Nigeria may never be able to get these funds back again and that obviously explains why the Justice Minister mentioned in his briefing you referred to that the £175 million and another £22.5 million cited as recovered funds will still need to go through some court processes before Nigeria can actually take hold of them.”
Indeed, the Minister admitted Thursday last week during his briefing that the companies involved in the Abacha loot have lodged an appeal against the attempt to recover the funds before the European Court of Justice in Strasburg, adding that as soon as the appeal is concluded, firm arrangements consistent with the asset recovery provisions of the United Nations Convention against corruption would be made to repatriate the forfeited sums to Nigeria.
A top security source also involved in the recovery efforts told Saturday Sun that, apart from the hurdles already set by foreign governments, the SIP handling the investigations and recovery with support from the office of the Attorney General of the Federation may be facing challenges of funding from the Nigerian government, as its work entails frequent trips to Europe and other countries.
“The work of the panel requires a lot of funding due to several trips needed to be undertaken to attend meetings and carry out other necessary assignments but it is becoming obvious that government may not be able to continue releasing the needed funds because of the recent challenges faced in accessing such. No one will really blame the government for this especially when funds are yet to be repatriated home to justify further trips.
Again, if this continues it will affect the work of the panel and ultimately the entire recovery effort, meaning that the country may as well forfeit the huge funds to these countries which are not really eager to let go in the first place”, the security source added. The source stressed that, “there is the need to educate the public on the double standard approach of most developed nations on the fight against corruption especially when it comes to repatriation of stolen funds back to developing and third world countries.
We can’t talk because the head of the panel is a strict senior military officer but we thank God that the AGF was able to give a hint of some of our problems with these foreign countries.”
Some of the foreign jurisdictions where the stolen funds have been traced include Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Jersey and the United States. One of the latest discoveries is the $ 550 million in a coded account in France. Saturday Sun had earlier reported that the Federal Government was encouraged to dig deeper into the Abacha loot following of a recent statement credited to the Swiss lawyer, Monfrini handling the case.
While giving further insight into previous efforts to recover the stolen monies, the lawyer was quoted to have said that: “Civil action was initiated by the Federal Republic of Nigeria before the High Court of London in May 1999. It resulted in the seizing of only USD 60 million in the United Kingdom.
The ‘full account’ given by the members of Abacha family were notoriously incomplete, notably in respect of their Swiss, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg assets, totaling USD 1.5 billion, which were entirely omitted. Less than USD 10 million of frozen assets been forfeited and recovered in the United Kingdom, none of which, was through civil proceedings.” Only the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo has been able to recover the highest amount of $ 1.25 billion from the Abacha loot.
The preceding regime of General Abdulsalam Abubakar and the succeeding government of late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua could not do much in this regard notwithstanding the efforts also made. Obasanjo recently gave an indication that much could still be trapped outside the country when he declared at a function in Delta State that “When I was president, I called the World Bank.
I said, please, give me the list of the amount that has been stolen, where is it kept and who the beneficiaries are. I never got anything from the World Bank thereafter. We have on our own decided that we will investigate and get from one family, Abacha family alone,” he revealed. “From the Abacha family alone, we recovered millions of dollars.
I got 1.25 billion dollars and the lawyer in Swizerland (he is still there), who was doing it for us, said, when I was leaving, that if we worked harder, there was still, at least, one billion dollars that we can get from that family alone.” General Sani Abacha had ruled Nigeria as a military Head of State from 17th November 1993 to 8th June 1998, when he died suddenly of a heart attack.
As a result, General Abdulsalami Abubakar became the head of state and within a short time, he re-established democracy in Nigeria, arranging for general elections that resulted in the emergence of Obasanjo assuming the presidency as the democratically elected leader of the country in 1999.
Before Obasanjo took office, Abubakar’s interim government had delivered a clear message that Abacha had looted huge sums, and they had to be restored. Members of the Abacha family and some of their accomplice then ‘voluntarily’ returned approximately $ 1 billion to the Federal Government.
It was also reported in our April exclusive story on the Abacha loot that while the latest discovery of the volume of stolen funds still trapped outside the country may appear as an indication of a breakthrough in the renewed effort to recover the looted funds, the sad news is however that Nigeria may never get the monies back through the legal means it has been following since 1999.
“In one of the last meetings before the SIP team stopped foreign trips on the case, the Nigerian government was told in plain term that it will be too hard to get the monies repatriated to the country through any court case or legal battles except through diplomatic negotiations with the foreign jurisdictions where these funds have been servicing their economies”, our source had added.
Efforts to speak with officials of foreign countries mentioned in the report for their reaction proved abortive. A text message also sent to the mobile number of spokesman of the British High Commission in Nigeria, Rob Fitzpatrick was equally not responded to.
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Posted in Nigerian Newspapers. A DisNaija.Com network.
Source: The Sun Newspaper
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•Deploy more personnel as army chief vows to wipe out terror group
•Security beefed up at N’Assembly
Deji Elumoye and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
Abuja, Nigeria’s seat of power, is under a massive security cordon following threats of attacks by insurgents and the increasing wave of banditry in the contiguous states of Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger States, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed.
There has been a wave of kidnappings in the outskirts of the federal capital, notably Pegi, Tuganmaje and Kuje among others, which the police have battled in recent times.
The security situation in and around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was heightened by the pronouncement of the Niger State Governor, Mr. Sani Bello, that Boko Haram fighters who he said sacked 50 villages in the state and hoisted the terror group’s flag, were about two hours drive away from the FCT.
Security has also been beefed up at the National Assembly as operatives, yesterday, thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja.
The deteriorating security situation nationwide prompted the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, to warn that the 2023 general election may not hold, demanding the declaration of a state of emergency as well as the convocation of a national conference.
However, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, yesterday restated the Nigerian Army’s determination to annihilate Boko Haram.
But the Governor of Katsina State, Hon. Bello Masari, cautioned against declaring a state of emergency, saying doing so isn’t the solution to combat the security challenges facing the country.
The security of the nation’s airports was also in focus yesterday as the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) said there was no threat to them.
THISDAY’s investigations showed increased presence of troops, police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel and intelligence operatives at the three strategic entrances to the city notably, Keffi, Zuba and Gwagwalada.
More checkpoints were also mounted around Gwagwalada and Keffi.
THISDAY also observed increased intelligence deployment at the entrance and the borders of FCT with contiguous states.
Beyond the borders, there were more deployments and police patrols inside the city and increased intelligence deployments as well.
Security sources told THISDAY: “There are deployments here and there but they are routine. Alertness is key to a secure environment.”
It was also learnt that security agencies were involved in frenzied meetings throughout yesterday.
The meetings, coordinated by the office of the Chief of Defence Staff under the new joint operational strategy of the armed forces, were aimed at coordinating a joint response to possible threats of attack to the FCT.
“I understand the security teams have been meeting for some days now and if you look around you, you will notice that there are increasing patrols and numbers of security personnel. The threats are not been taken lightly,” a source said.
National Assembly workers, lawmakers and visitors also had a harrowing experience accessing the legislative complex due to heightened security in the area.
Security operatives thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja, impeding both human and vehicular traffic.
The Sergeant-at-arm of the National Assembly and other security agencies supervised the operations, leading to huge traffic build-up inside the complex.
Legislative staff, visitors and lawmakers were seen patiently waiting for their cars to be searched so that they could go ahead with the business of the day.
Some staff and visitors at some point got tired of waiting and were seen alighting from their cars to trek from the gate to the complex.
Meanwhile, the ONSA has said there is no threat to the nation’s airports.
A statement by the Head of Strategic Communication, Mr. Zachari Usman, said the reports of threats to the airports were an internal correspondence of security threat assessment misconstrued as security threat to the airports.
PDP Demands State of Emergency
In a related development, the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, yesterday demanded the declaration of a state of emergency, warning that the 2023 general election might not hold if the federal government failed to tackle insecurity.
He called on the federal government to summon a national conference to address the spike in insecurity.
Secondus added that the national caucus of the party will meet today to discuss the state of the nation.
Addressing members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in Abuja, Secondus said: “We are worried Abuja is not even safe. It is no longer politics. We got alert of plots to bomb and burn down our airports.
“We urge the federal government to declare a national state of emergency in security. There is the need to call a national conference to discuss the insecurity in the country.
“There may not be any election in 2023 in Nigeria due to insecurity. This government must listen to the people. The Buhari government should call a national confab to discuss security and state of the nation. It is no longer politics. This time we are not playing politics. Let’s keep politics aside and move the nation forward.”
He said the country had been grounded, regretting that there had been no matching response from the federal government.
Secondus said in the past, terrorism in the North was confined to the North-east, but with the report of Boko Haram occupying villages in Niger State, terrorism had spread to the North-central
“Herdsmen are also menacing in the West; gunmen causing havoc in the East; and the militants in the South; all killing, looting, raping, maiming and burning down homes. The situation is bad; Nigerians all over are living in fear,” he said.
The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said the problem of Nigeria was outside of the PDP headquarters, while pledging the support of the Senate to the declaration of state of emergency in security.
Abaribe said he deliberately decided not to speak on the floor of the Senate but to allow the APC senators to speak so as to avoid being accused of giving a partisan colouration to the issue of insecurity.
He stated that only electoral reforms would give victory to the opposition party in the 2023 general election and ensure a democratic defeat of the APC-led federal government.
Also, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, commended the NEC and the PDP leadership for their collective efforts at resolving the House leadership crisis.
The NEC meeting adopted the position of Secondus, calling on the federal government to convoke a national conference to discuss the state of insecurity in the country, according to a communiqué read by the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan.
Army Chief Vows to Wipe Out Boko Haram
The army yesterday reiterated its commitment to wipe out Boko Haram.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, told reporters in Maiduguri, Borno State that Boko Haram had been defeated in many encounters and would continue to be defeated until it’s annihilated from Nigeria.
“We will take on Boko Haram decisively, and we are committed to the focus of the operations, which is the total annihilation of Boko Haram from Nigeria,” he said.
The COAS, who was visiting the headquarters of Operation Lafiya Dole in Maiduguri for the fifth time since his appointment four months ago, said the visit was to boost the morale of the troops, reassure them and listen to any issues affecting them.
Earlier, the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Farouq Yahaya, lauded the visit, which he said had continued to boost the morale of the troops.
“We are honoured, we are grateful, we are encouraged by those visits. You provided us guidance, logistics and other things we required. We are most grateful for those visits,” Yahaya said.
State of Emergency Won’t Solve Security Challenges, Says Masari
Katsina State Governor, Hon. Aminu Masari, has, however, said declaration of a state of emergency won’t solve the security challenges facing the nation.
Masari, who spoke yesterday with journalists after meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari at the State House, Abuja stated that he was against the recent call by the House of Representatives for the declaration of a state of emergency in the security sector as it would not solve the problem.
According to him, declaring a state of emergency will not achieve the desired effect as the security structure and personnel to be used to execute the emergency are already overstretched in a bid to safeguard lives and property.
Sourced From: THISDAYLIVE
Tribune Online
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has recorded 62 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 165,110. The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Friday. “55 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria; Lagos-21, Yobe-19, Ogun-6, Akwa Ibom-3, Kaduna-2, Plateau-2, FCT-1, Rivers-1.” YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE COVID-19: Nigeria Recorded […]
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Tribune Online
Sourced From: Tribune Online
Kamaru Usman has raked in a mammoth £1.1million, about N584.2 million after his impressive knockout victory over Jorge Masvidal on Saturday night, Sportivation.com.ng reports.
The Nigerian Nightmare has been handsomely rewarded for his stunning performance and he was the best-paid fighter on the card which was witnessed by 15, 000 fans in Florida.
According to Daily Mail, Usman earned £538,000 to show up, £459,000 pay-per-view bonus, a £43,000 sponsorship bonus and a well deserved £35,000 Performance of the Night bonus.
Jorge Masvidal also earned £358,000 to show, £186,000 in pay-per-view money and a £28,000 sponsorship bonus.
This is the biggest payday of Usman’s career so far and the Welterweight champion also benefited from the fact that Masvidal is also a top draw for the fans.
Kamaru Usman is a Nigerian-American professional mixed martial artist, former freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler.
Sourced From: Latest Nigeria News, Nigerian Newspapers, Politics
The government said that no worker should stay back beyond 6:00 p.m. within premises of buildings undergoing construction.
The post Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria.
Sourced From: Premium Times Nigeria
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Military, Police Ring Abuja to Forestall Boko Haram Attack
UFC: Usman gets N584m after beating Masvidal
Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings
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