Nigerians own Abacha loot’ – UK, US, warns Buhari against giving Atiku Bagudu $100m

[Edoman]

NEWS
‘Nigerians own Abacha loot’ – UK, US, warns Buhari against giving Atiku Bagudu $100m

 
 April 6, 2020


The United Kingdom government has warned against President Buhari government’s plan to give more than $100million to Kebbi Governor, Atiku Bagudu.



The money is part of funds stolen by the late Head of State, Sani Abacha.

The U.S. and Nigeria, in early February, agreed on the repatriation of over $308million to Africa’s most populous nation.



A few days later, the world power accused the Nigerian government of a secret plot to give Atiku Bagudu a per cent of the money.

On Monday, Bloomberg reported that the U.K National Crime Agency has insisted that the Abacha loot belongs to the people and “is opposing the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s application”.

The motion was filed by Atiku Bagudu’s brother, Ibrahim, “to the District Court for the District of Columbia in the U.S. capital on March 30”.



The U.S. had in a statement on February 3, said the Kebbi Governor was part of Abacha network that “embezzled, misappropriated and extorted billions from the government of Nigeria.”

The Department of Justice (DoJ) further said the Buhari administration is preventing ongoing forfeiture efforts against Atiku Bagudu.

The 2003 settlement approved by a U.K. court allowed the governor to return $163 million to Nigeria “without admitting to wrongdoing,” according to U.S. court filings.



In return, the federal government dropped all outstanding civil and criminal claims against him, District Judge John D. Bates noted in a December 23, 2019 memorandum opinion.

“This case illustrates how complex and contentious repatriating stolen assets to Nigeria can be,” Matthew Page, an associate fellow at Chatham House.

“Nigeria’s lawyers appear to be supporting the interests of one of the country’s most powerful families”, the intelligence expert added.

Successive governments have so far repatriated more than $2billion stashed abroad by Abacha.

Transparency International estimated that the late dictator stole around $5billion during his five-year rule.

[Edoman]

UK joins US to block $110M Abacha looted funds from getting transferred to Bagudu






The United Kingdom has joined the United States in resisting a plan by the Federal Government to hand over nearly $110 million of funds the American authorities say was stolen by late dictator Sani Abacha to Kebbi State Governor, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu.
 
According to Bloomberg, the governments of Nigeria, the UK and the US, are involved in a dispute over investment portfolios worth 141 million euros ($155 million) traced to Abacha and held in trust for Bagudu, the governor of Nigeria’s northern state of Kebbi, and his family.
 
Nigeria is seeking the approval of a U.K. court to take ownership of the assets before returning 70% of the proceeds to Bagudu under the terms of a 2018 deal.
 
The U.K. government’s National Crime Agency “is opposing the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s application,” according to a motion filed by Bagudu’s brother, Ibrahim, to the District Court for the District of Columbia in the U.S. capital on March 30.
 
The U.S. Department of Justice said in February that its Nigerian counterpart is hindering its efforts to recover the allegedly laundered money from the U.K.
 
The U.S department of Justice is accusing Bagudu, 58, of being part of a network controlled by Abacha that "embezzled, misappropriated and extorted billions from the government of Nigeria."
 
While successive Nigerian governments have repatriated billions of dollars looted by Abacha, who died in office in 1998, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari says it’s prevented from assisting the U.S.’s ongoing forfeiture efforts by an agreement between Bagudu and a previous government in 2003.
 
Abacha is estimated to have stolen as much as $5 billion during his five-year rule.
 
That 2003 settlement, which was approved by a U.K. court, allowed Bagudu to return $163 million to Nigeria "without admitting to wrongdoing," according to U.S. court filings.
 
In return, the government dropped all outstanding civil and criminal claims against him.
 
Bagudu was elected a senator in 2009 and the governor of Kebbi State six years later.
 
Five years after the U.S. launched fresh forfeiture proceedings against him, Bagudu and Buhari’s administration struck a new accord in October 2018 to transfer ownership of the investment portfolios to the Nigerian state, which would immediately pay 98.5 million euros to the Kebbi governor and his affiliates.
 
The terms of the updated settlement can’t be implemented while Nigeria’s application in a U.K. court is pending and a freezing order is still in place, according to a motion by Ibrahim Bagudu, who is entitled to a $100,000 annuity from the funds and is contesting the U.S. confiscation efforts.
 
Although the DoJ and NCA oppose the 2018 settlement, Ibrahim Bagudu and the U.S. government "recently commenced preliminary discussions regarding a potential negotiated resolution to this matter," according to a motion filed by the U.S. government to the district court on March 13.