By Emmanuel Nduka
Governments of Nigeria and the United States have reached an agreement on the return of over $23 million of the Abacha loot.
The agreement signing ceremony was held on Tuesday in the Office of Nigeria’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami.
While Malami signed on behalf of the Nigerian Government, the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard signed on the behalf of the US Government.
Malami informed that the fund when returned, will be invested in three ongoing projects by the Federal Government, including the ongoing Abuja-Kaduna road and the 2nd Niger Bridge.
Nigeria has in the past recovered several other tranches of the Abacha loot, which are proceeds believed to have been diverted from public coffers by the military administration of General Sani Abacha in the 1990s.
In 2020, the US and Jersey also agreed to return over $308 million in confiscated funds to Nigeria. Earlier in 2006, about $723 million in Abacha loot was returned to Nigeria from Switzerland.
