“There Was No Agreement To Hand Over $100m Abacha Loot To Governor Bagudu” – Attorney General Of The Federation Says
The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), has on February 22 refuted the United States’ allegation that President Muhammadu Buhari, was planning to hand over about $100m out of the Abacha loot to Kebbi State Governor, Abubakar Bagudu.
Malami stated that there was no form of agreement to hand over $100m to Bagudu or any third party interest and that the repatriated money would be used for the development of critical infrastructure.
Read Also: U.S. Opposes Nigeria’s Plan To Hand Looted Funds To Kebbi State Governor, Abubakar Bagudu
He stated that Bagudu was only pursuing separate cases in court in the United States and the United Kingdom to assert his right in connection with the Abacha loot.
Malami added that Nigeria was also cooperating with the US in the recovery of other assets “including corruption proceeds linked to ex-Petroleum Resources Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke and her associates, and former Delta State Governor James Ibori as well as several others.”
The AGF restated that the money would be used for infrastructural projects like Abuja-Kano Road, 2nd Niger Bridge and the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, as agreed with the countries it was recovered.
In his words, Malami explained that;
It is pertinent to recall at this juncture that prior to the 2020 agreement with the United States and the Island of Jersey, the Federal Government has signed an agreement for the return of over $300m in 2017 which was effectively deployed for the purpose for which it was agreed to be applied without any issue of reputation.
The AGF revealed that;
The FG is also negotiating the recovery of assets from several countries and the agreements for the recovery and the procedure for recovery are always presented to Federal Executive Council for approval and duly made public once the processes have been concluded.
No third-party interest was captured in the memo that was approved by the council.
Meanwhile, the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) called for a judicial probe of an allegation that the FG was planning to give Bagudu $100m out of the Abacha loot.
In a statement on February 22 the SMBLF said the allegations that the government had been frustrating attempts to recover part of the looted funds allegedly traced to Bagudu were worrisome and must not be ignored.
