SERAP WRITES PRESIDENT BUHARI OVER RECOVERED ABACHA LOOT

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) to provide the organisation with a copy of the agreement the Federal Government recently signed with the United States for the repatriation of $23 million loot of late General Sani Abacha.

In the letter dated 27 August 2022 and signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: “By the combined reading of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended], the Freedom of Information Act, and the country’s international obligations, there are transparency obligations imposed on your government to widely publish the agreement on the $23 million Abacha loot.”

SERAP said, “Providing us with a copy of the agreement with the US, and publishing the agreement would allow Nigerians to scrutinise it, and to monitor the spending of the repatriated $23 million Abacha loot to ensure that the money is not mismanaged, diverted or stolen.”

SERAP expressed “concern that the repatriated $23 million Abacha loot is vulnerable to corruption and mismanagement. Substantial part of the estimated $5 billion returned Abacha loot since 1999 may have been diverted, re-stolen or mismanaged, and in any case remain unaccounted for.”