FG recovers $4bn cash, $2bn assets from Abacha’s loot in 25 years
By Babs Oyetoro
Twenty-five years after the death of the former military head of state, Gen Sani Abacha, the Federal Government has continued to be the beneficiary of his ill-gotten wealth starched away in foreign countries.
It is unprecedented that from 1999 to 2022 Nigeria has received a whooping sum of $4bn cash and $2bn in the form of assets from the dark goggle late Army General, as he was fondly referred to in the media.
During the tail end of Muhammadu Buhari’s regime, the United States government agreed to return $23m to Nigeria after signing a deal with the Federal Government. The actual amount of money stolen by Abacha is still unknown.
READ ALSO:Seplat Energy incurs N2.6bn in gas flare penalties in Q3 2023
The most recent sterling revelation came from faraway France as the government made it public to return $150m to the Nigerian government as part of Abacha’s loot again.
Although, it is yet unknown how much exactly was smuggled abroad during the Abacha regime, below is a list of times his loot has been recovered by Nigeria.
This is the breakdown of the recovered Abacha’s loot:
*July 1999 ($420m) May 2002 ($1.2bn)
*November 2003 (Jersey Island returned $149m)
*September 2005, Switzerland returned $458m in cash and $2bn in assets
*March 2014 (Switzerland returned $380m)
*June 2014 (Liechtenstein returned $227m)
*August 2014 (the US returned $480m)
*2016 (Switzerland returned $723m)
*December 2017 (Switzerland returned $322m)
*January 2020 (Island of Jersey and the US returned $321m)
*May 2020 (Island of Jersey and the US returned $311m)
*August 2020, (Republic of Ireland repatriated €5.5m)
*August 2022 (US repatriated $23m).
